How Fire Hydrant Locations Are Determined And How The City Installs Them
As you walk along city streets, you may notice the fire hydrants installed here and there. It may seem like fire hydrant installation is random, but really it is not. There is rhyme and reason for hydrants to be installed where they are, and there is a process to follow for installing them, as you will see.
Population Density Dictates Placement
The more people that live in "x" square yards of each other, the greater the need to have a fire hydrant in place in the event of a fire. Where there are lots of buildings with multiple floors, numerous hydrants are installed so that there is a hydrant in front of a building, just down the street from the same building, and across the street from the building to ensure that adequate water sources are available to put out a fire if said building catches fire.
Number of Multi-Story Buildings Factors In
Multi-story buildings are also a factor in determining if the city will install more hydrants or not. In the heart of most cities, there are many buildings and skyscrapers that would require a lot of water to extinguish if they caught fire. Hence, you may notice a lot more hydrants placed much closer together to accommodate the number of multi-story buildings. You may also notice that some of these hydrants are exempt from vehicles parking close to them, which means that they tend to be backup hydrants in the event that most of the other hydrants intended for use are expected to be operational and kept open.
How Hydrants Are Installed
Plumbing contractors head into the sewers, attaching large pieces of pipe that connect city water mains to areas where the hydrants will go. Above ground, contractors are opening up holes in the city walkways to make room for the hydrants. The pipes that the plumbers install will come up through these holes. Mechanisms inside both the pipes and the hydrants pressurize the water so that it comes out in intense force when the firefighters attach hoses to the hydrants and open the hydrants to release the water. The hydrants are installed over the tops of the holes, and the plumbers connect the pipes to the hydrants from underneath. Water pressure is checked to make sure that the hydrants will operate as expected when the firefighters need to use the water from these hydrants.
To learn more, contact your local plumbing company today.
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