Discovering Cities: Fire Hydrants

Jamie.Nielsen | March 24, 2023, 7:17 p.m.

After having recently moved to the big city, I’ve been overly entranced by the romantic wonders that the urban landscape has to offer. The tastefully rustic hole in the wall coffee shops, the brute and inconvenient structures of scaffolding, the sounds of an eternally busy organism having the heartbeat of loud car horns and deep breaths of subway trains rushing beneath the surface, the homeless, the nurturing yet sanctimonious mob of citizens that keep me striving to make it in this place, and most importantly, the bright lights that illuminate the wondrous chaos of diversity wrangling its way to a better tomorrow. I can easily say I have been everything but underwhelmed after diving neck first into this new intimidating lifestyle I chose for myself, but be that as it may, I still see importance in taking the time to fully immerse myself in this new habitat, in which leaving any stone unturned would be a disservice to myself, and my wife and 3 kids that I had to leave behind.

As I’ve proudly strolled the streets, scrolling through my Tik-tok algorithm, I’ve come across so many archaic artifacts of the great city that are blissfully trapped in this modern age. These touchstones of a bygone era candidly help us in painting a picture that captures homeliness and an inescapable majesty that makes a recently single, young, up-and-comer like myself fall in love with something that was originally nothing more than just an abstract idea trapped in the mind of an alcoholic socialite yearning for his next fix of unobtainable ecstasy that he could only hope to imitate through the planning of the greatest city on planet earth. One thing in particular that I recently discovered and that has more than caught my attention in this industrious new world I’ve come to find is a staple of our nation's rich history that provides us all a clear snapshot of a pixelated past that we most often forget.

Being new to the city environment, I was not too familiar with these historic utilities that I have just recently come to learn are known as “Fire Hydrants” or even more simply put “Hydrants”. Initially, I thought these isolated micro structures were the products of an ethically government funded urban art installation but after having walked into one for the sixth time within an hour due to constantly looking down at my phone, I had decided to direct my full attention to uncovering the truths behind these retro futuristic stalagmites of that I wish and hope to educate those of you just like my recent self who are also uninformed on these fascinating pieces.

Hydrants are a rich product of mankind’s ability to invent and innovate unique solutions to novel yet daunting problems that we so often face. In the not so distant past, city structures would become aflame for a wide cornucopia of reasons. One reason I would assume being the most common would be that people had to light fires in their home for either light, warmth, or for inhaling. Other available scenarios you could imagine would potentially involve an electrostatic discharge from the earth’s atmosphere striking structures with over a gigajoule of energy causing them to burst into flames. Regardless of origin, there was a great need in the past to promptly douse these structures to minimize damage and casualties to humans. Following the institution of wooden water lines throughout cities, a revolution occurred in the firefighting tradecraft that dramatically improved the performance of anti arson. Ladder men were able to make use of the water source right beneath their feet by drilling down into the ground and through the wooden water mains. This was a huge jump from the early methods of bucket brigading and made water more easily available then ever. As time progressed and technology enhanced, firemen began to streamline the process even further (apologies for the aptly placed pun) which is where the fire hydrants of yesterday came onto the stage. Instead of having to drill and re-drill holes into the ground, and plug and unplug waterways, the novel invention of fire hydrants was created to bring the water right to the surface. The beautifully designed above ground pipes easily allowed for water to be tapped faster than ever (that is of course as long as you had a large pentagonal socket wrench handy).

Fire hydrants were a real game changer, and although they are no longer used in the present day they still stand across cities as faithful reminders of one of man’s greatest accomplishments. These stout pillars still carry the vibrant courage they once brought in defending the greatness of urban infrastructures of which we pay homage to them by not parking our vehicles within 15 feet of them.

Another hidden gem in a place of such infinite possibilities and opportunities that I can only assume will be the first of many that I will come to know, admire and love. All is well when one’s mind is open and one’s hopes are full…until we meet again Cincinnati.