Working hydrants save lives
From its earliest beginnings, when fire was fought by people forming bucket brigades to shuttle water to the fire in leather buckets, to today’s firetrucks, which pump thousands of gallons of water a minute, the basic way to extinguish fires has not changed.
  Except for rare occasions, it still takes water to extinguish fires, or, as we sometimes say in the fire service, you have to put the wet stuff on the red stuff.
  In High Point, most of our trucks carry some water, but we are heavily dependent on fire hydrants to help supply the necessary water to fight fires. It’s a ter rible feeling when you hook your hose to a hydrant that doesn’t work, a “dry hydrant,” we call it. It is extremely dangerous because crews fighting the fire are dependent on a continuous water supply to maintain safety as well as extinguishing the fire.
  It’s important that the fire department tests fire hydrants at least on a yearly basis so we can do preventative maintenance, such as removing obstructions around the hydrant and lubricating the threads on the outlets.
  We basically test two types of hydrants, city hydrants and private hydrants, which are usually found in apartment and condominium complexes, as well as some housing developments. City crews repair broken city hydrants, while private hydrants are the responsibility of the homeowners’ associations.
  When a private hydrant needs repair or is completely out of service, the homeowners association will be notified so it can make the necessary repairs. When any hydrant is found to be out of service, it will be covered with a black bag so emergency crews won’t hook to a dry hydrant.
  We flow hydrants to ensure they are operating properly and that there are no obstructions in the hydrant. We have found rocks, drink cans and bottles stuffed inside hydrants. Flowing the hydrant occasionally causes the water to be discolored. We try to minimize this by flowing the hydrant until the water is clear, which usually takes about 10 m i nu t es.
  I know that occasionally there are some minor inconveniences when checking hydrants, but it is important we keep them in good working order to make everyone in the city safer. We would appreciate your patience, and we will try not to inconvenience anyone as little as possible.
  24/7/365: You call; we res p o n d .
 KENNETH LEE KNIGHT is a battalion chief in the High Point Fire Department.