Sucky citizens put rest of population in danger

[mattm04]

In large sections of the East Coast we have dealt with 90+ degree heat for the last 4 days with high humidity. Today it was 98.

To cool off some of the people of Hartford, Connecticut decided to open fire hydrants. Over the last 4 days they had dumped enough water on the street to make hydrants in some areas useless. In the event of a house fire the FF's would only have the three minutes of water on the trucks before they ran out of water to fight the fire. The mentioned that in another city once they had to let houses burn down because of the lack of water from hydrants.

While it is illegal to open a hydrant, you can see the parents enjoy watching their little pwecious childrun playing. When the FD arrives the children and parents BOO! If the police can find the assholes who opened the hydrants, I say a summer in a nice hot jail is due. And if someone dies in a fire due to lack of water because they pend a hydrant, I say charge them with manslaughter and reckless endangerment.

http://fox61.trb.com/video/?autoStar...clipId=2578230

[One-Fang]

Wow. Just pray for the irony that it's their house that catches fire.

I can't stand people with that kind of entitlement sense. I know everyone seems to think the world revolves around them privately these days, but it's a special kind of entitlement to think your comfort is more important than people's lives or property.

[thehippie777]

That would make sense to me. Either invest in a garden hose, or take the kids to a pool. I had never really understood the fire hydrant thing anyway.

[Docmayhem]

This is why the New York City FD has flow limiting spray caps that they can attach to the hydrant-

Kids get cool/ have fun, FDNY can still put out fires.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/haz...t_safety.shtml

[protege]

TEither invest in a garden hose, or take the kids to a pool. I had never really understood the fire hydrant thing anyway.

Not all city residents have a way to get to the pool. Many of Pittsburgh's city pools aren't open this year...because of the city's financial problems. It's either the fire hydrant...or swim in the river. Of the two, I'd rather take the hydrant

[mattm04]

Not all city residents have a way to get to the pool. Many of Pittsburgh's city pools aren't open this year...because of the city's financial problems. It's either the fire hydrant...or swim in the river. Of the two, I'd rather take the hydrant

Like most cities, Hartford does have it;s share of problems, but they still open community cooling shelters and do have pools open. I don;t know if they have the special caps the FD puts on hydrants to limit the water flow while still allowing the kids to play.

According in HS i took a forensics class, we had some of the local FF's come in for a unit on fire and arson. Depending on the way they open a hydrant it can dump from 1,000 to 2,500 gallons of water per minute. Now imagine dozens if not hundreds of open hydrants that ran for who know how long. If you can invest in wrench to open the hydrant, you can invest in a hose.

[daleduke17]

Those city boy firefighters need to contact their rural brothers for a class on tanker shuttles. :-p Silly city firefighters and their "hydrant systems". :-p

I say this in jest as I was on a rural organization for five years and filled off a hydrant once for a fire call. Any other time there were about five departments (one time 48) doing tanker drops. I do understand the hell of no hydrants when there are supposed to be.

To open up a hydrant it doesn't take much. A nice pipe wrench, or even a good set of channel locks could get one open. The people in the story are just EWs who will complain when their place catches on fire and the FD doesn't have water available.

[powerboy]

All I needed when I was younger was a hose, unless we had a pool.

[protege]

Those city boy firefighters need to contact their rural brothers for a class on tanker shuttles. :-p Silly city firefighters and their "hydrant systems". :-p

In SW PA though, quite a few rural areas now have hydrants. Those were installed when the water system was enlarged. With all the mining going on, quite a few people were without water after their wells were destroyed or their streams diverted. Damn longwalling...

Grandma got lucky with that--at the time, my grandfather was politically connected, and managed to buy up the mineral rights under the farm for practically nothing. As such, we were the only farm not forced to haul water.

[mattm04]

Those city boy firefighters need to contact their rural brothers for a class on tanker shuttles. :-p Silly city firefighters and their "hydrant systems". :-p

I rural areas it is expected that you need to haul water to the scene. You don't see many tankers in city depts. I live in rural area, where the majority of the town doesn't have city water. Only the main road and a few miles off it has city water and hydrants. The town has two tankers that but the rest of the trucks are engines with 700-1000 gal of water. I'm sure city depts. have tankers and do practice it but unless a major earthquake hit or something like that they expect to have functional hydrants.

[One-Fang]

Not all city residents have a way to get to the pool. ... It's either the fire hydrant...or swim in the river.

So, for example, if I'm running late for a meeting it's either be late ... or speed like a demon on the roads?

When one of the options is illegal and dangerous, let's stick with ruling it out.

All homes have a water supply. They should buy a hose.

[protege]

All homes have a water supply. They should buy a hose.

That they do, but not all of the homes have yards... Quite a few are row houses and apartment buildings.I really doubt someone would run a hose down from a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th floor apartment... Also, not everyone is willing to use their hoses--think about it, why should they pay for the water...if they can get it for free from a hydrant?

[mariamousie1]

Geez, buy your kids a sprinkler already.

[One-Fang]

You pay for water? More national differences that I wasn't aware of. We don't.

Still doesn't justify opening the hydrants. Sorry, but nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to justify opening hydrants for cooling off. Okay, except those ones someone mentioned that are specifically modified to allow a low-flow output for kids wanting to cool off because they'll just do it anyway, so at least this way they're not removing the water supply for what it's intended for.

[Gawdzillers]

Is it weird that I find the heat quite comfortable?
Especially when it's super-humid.