Adopt-A-Hydrant
Hydrant adoption programs are in place in hundreds of fire service districts to help fire and water departments keep up with the daunting task of maintaining their hydrant systems. For example, West Jordan, Utah encourages creative hydrant adoption. Here’s their program:

Identifying hydrant locations is especially important during the winter. Fire Departments need help keeping hydrants easy to find and clear of snow and debris. Here’s how they do it in Summit County, Colorado where there’s a lot of snow. Their slogan? “Adopt it and dig it out.”

FireHydrant.org
When it comes to supporting the serious hydrantologist you must visit FireHydrant.org. You’ll find hydrant technical information and hydrant photos indexed by manufacturer and collector.

It’s not strange to us, but it may be surprising to you, that there are many who collect fire hydrants. Some, like Jack Selvey, have collections of more than 100 hydrants. Check out Jack’s collection. You’ll also be able to see sixty other hydrant collections.

Hydrant Flushing in Valparaiso, Indiana

Hydrant Flushing
Why flush hydrants? Flushing provides a way to verify the proper operation of hydrants and valves and eliminates sediments and other solids from mainline pipes. This enhances water quality, helps identify leaks and potential weaknesses in the water system and verifies ample flow for fire fighting.

Flushing is done by fully opening a hydrant and letting water flow out at the maximum discharge rate. This procedure usually results in a temporary discoloration of water, changes in water pressure and may interrupt water service. While hydrant flushing may change the color of water for a few hours, it does not effect its potability.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hydrant Flushing from Highland Park, Illinois.

Hydrants In The News
Exploding Hydrant: WXII Channel 12 reports on a ruptured hydrant and service line in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This man ‘Man On The Street’ report captures all the hydrantological drama.

Hydrant Crackdown: WDAY Channel 6 reports on the problems faced by the Moorehead, Minnesota Water Department when contractors connect to city hydrants without authorization.

Hydrant Sports
Team Hydrant Carry: You may have seen a Team Stone Carry event but have you ever seen a Team Fire Hydrant Carry? It’s the tough way to haul water.

www.skatewave.com

Skating: A fire hydrant brings the realism and excitement of street style skating into your community skate park. But you need a hydrant that’s safe and designed for skating. The Skatewave hydrant encourages beginner skill development while providing an object for technical trick execution.

Hydrant Tracking
Keeping tabs on a district’s hydrant inventory and condition is a critical step in maintaining a fire protection plan. Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (California) maintains data on 4000 hydrants using a handheld computer and GPS unit. Learn more…

The RoDon Corporation manufactures high-visibility hydrant locating devices.

Hydrant Painting
Creative Projects: Students applied their creative talents to hydrants in downtown Ann Arbor to help bring art and the community together.

Flow Rate: Fire fighters like to know the water flow rate of a hydrant when they hook up. The American Water Works Association recommends a specific color scheme for painting hydrants to indicate their relative capacity.

Fund Raising: Four artists painted old fire hydrants and organized a benefit event for the Four Muddy Paws Foundation. Their efforts raised enough money to equip each St. Louis Fire Department vehicle with pet friendly oxygen masks.

Maintenance: Many municipalities have developed programs to assist with the difficult job of keeping up with hydrant maintenance. Here’s the guidelines for painting fire hydrants in Mesa, Arizona.

Volunteer Projects: School groups, Boy Scout Troops and municipal arts organizations all over the country have developed hydrant painting programs as fund raising and beautification projects. Here’s how it’s done in Valparaiso, Indiana.

A hydrant decoration competition helped Springville, Iowa celebrate its 125th Anniversary Celebration.

Water Departments
Water Department (Wah-TER de-part-ment) n: an organized group of hydrologists who maintain hydrants but rarely get any credit for doing so.

Seems like Fire Departments get all the credit for hydrants. But, it’s usually the Water Department that’s responsible for making sure hydrants are operating properly. Learn more…

Water Supply
Each fire district and municipality has water supply and hydrant maintenance issue that are unique. Here's a recap of how water is made available for fire fighting in San Francisco. Learn more…

Fallen Firefighters
The United States Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to lead a nationwide effort to remember America’s fallen firefighters. Since 1992, the tax-exempt, nonprofit Foundation has developed and expanded programs to honor our fallen fire heroes and assist their families and co-workers.

doyle.com/patch.htm

Fire Fighter Patches
Designing, displaying and collecting uniform patches is a long standing tradition in the fire fighter and emergency service community. Here’s a virtual patch collection developed by Andy Doyle of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Fire Chiefs
Established in 1873, the International Association of Fire Chiefs represents the leadership of over 1.2 million career and volunteer chiefs and managers of emergency service organizations.

Fire Chief's Handbook
It takes a tremendous amount of experience and training to be a fire chief. To get an idea of the demands of this important fire service leadership role, look at the 6th edition of the Fire Chief's Handbook by Robert C. Barr and John M. Eversole. Topics include department management, incident command, apparatus, hazardous materials, public safety education, fire investigation, rescue operations and, of course, fire hydrant maintenance.

Fire Fighters-Professional
The International Association of Fire Fighters represents more than 287,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics in the United States and Canada.

Fire Fighters-Volunteer
National Volunteer Fire Council represents volunteer fire and emergency medical services personnel through advocacy, education, training, fundraising support, and public awareness campaigns.

Fire Fighter Events
A comprehensive listing of fire fighter events including conventions, fund raisers, training programs and seminars.

Fire History Museums
The Fire Museum Network serves as a resource for networking among fire museums to preserve the history and traditions of the fire service. Over 300 North American fire museums are listed in the Fire Museum Network directory.

Hydrant History
The invention of the fire hydrant is credited to Birdsill Holly (1820-1894) and his Holly Manufacturing Company of Lockport, NY which produced the fire protection system that is still used today in most of the developed world.