What was the fire department up to in my neighborhood?

April 15, 2013 12:05 PM

On Saturday, in the course of driving and then jogging around my neighborhood, I noticed that a man in a city firetruck was systematically driving from hydrant to hydrant and opening them each for a few minutes at a time, spilling water all over the street.

This took place over a several-square mile area over the course of at least an entire afternoon. I am in Raleigh, North Carolina, if that is relevant.

Thanks!

posted by something something to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

There's no better way to make sure a hydrant works than to open it and see if water comes out.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:09 PM on April 15, 2013 [6 favorites]

In the city of Biloxi, it looks like they open the hydrants to relieve pressure and distribute chlorine, so it may be a maintenance issue like that.
posted by xingcat at 12:10 PM on April 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Flushing the lines also removes sediment in the water mains.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:22 PM on April 15, 2013

Best answer: Raleigh works to keep hydrants flowing

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The City of Raleigh is trying to make sure firefighters don't encounter a broken fire hydrant like they did during a fire Tuesday in the 600 block of Quarry Street.

Five people were displaced in the fire. Firefighters arrived within three minutes but their closest hydrant was out of order. It was something they did not know about in advance. It was something the Utilities Department is supposed to pass along but didn't.
…
Starting next month, Raleigh firefighters will begin inspecting hydrants in their areas in hopes of getting to each hydrant once a year instead of every two years.

posted by zamboni at 12:22 PM on April 15, 2013 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: Huh. Google did not occur to me. Thanks!
posted by something something at 12:30 PM on April 15, 2013

This is a normal springtime thing in the Midwestern towns I've lived in. Usually it's reported in the newspaper as "flushing of hydrants" or something like that. Its purpose is to get any rust buildup out of the pipes.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:24 PM on April 15, 2013

Best answer: Firefighter down in Wilmington here. Hydrants here are checked/flushed at least twice per year to make sure they function properly, not full of debris, caps not painted/rusted on, etc. We measure flow rates every few years to make changes to preplans and make certain that we will have the amount of water/pressure needed in the event of an emergency.

Checking hydrants is boring, unless you're downtown, because then you get out and walk 30 blocks or so.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 6:09 PM on April 15, 2013

Hydrant flow tests are pretty routine for most fire departments.
posted by X4ster at 7:04 PM on April 15, 2013

They used to do this in suburban New Jersey when I was a kid and it was one of the (minor) highlights of my childhood. The firefighters told us it was to flush out the water lines and then would let all the neighborhood kids frolic in the hydrants. Which kind of grosses me out now that I think about what might have been IN that water. But still, fun.
posted by Aquifer at 8:09 PM on April 15, 2013