Fireplug. We’ve all heard the term, especially from previous generations. Today we call them “fire hydrants”. The evolution of the fireplug to fire hydrant began in the early 1600’s. Once upon a time, before pvc, water mains were constructed of wood. In order to fight a fire, fire fighters would drill a hole in the wooden main to provide water for bucket brigades. Each hole was then stopped with a wooden plug. The locations were marked in the eventuality they were needed again.
The evolution continued and about one hundred years later, valves began replacing the simple wooden stoppers. Firefighters carried portable standpipes (vertical outlets) which were inserted into the plugs. This design is still in use today in many parts of Britain and Europe.
Across the Atlantic, in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s,
Philadelphia began the ambitious undertaking of a municipal water
system. The Philadelphia Waterworks supplied water to the city by
using steam pumps to provide water from the river. Fire hydrants
were used as a source for firefighting as well as a source of sanitary
water for the city’s poor. Eventually the cast iron standpipe
or “fire hydrant” was outfitted with suitable nozzles
for hoses as the “bucket brigade” became part of history.
American Heritage of Invention & Technology
Winter 2002, Vol 17, No. 3, pp 10-11
