Whether you call it a fire hydrant, fire plug or Johnny pump, fire hydrants are an absolute necessity in any water district. They provide immeasurable operational uses for a water district but the most important use is fire protection. There are several different companies that manufacture them and they come in different shapes and sizes and some operate differently. In Bethpage, our hydrants are painted the common Red/White that we have become accustomed to seeing. However, many districts opt to change their colors to their liking. Some are Red/Silver, Blue/Yellow, Green/White and have even been chrome plated in other affluent areas of the country but their function is the same, to serve as an immediate water source for a fire.
As a form of communication to the Fire Department, Bethpage Water District paints the top cap of every hydrant a different color. This color code represents the size of the water main that the hydrant is connected to. This information allows the fire department to know how much water can be pumped from a particular water main. We have water mains that run throughout the town in various sizes including 4”, 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 14”, 16” and 20”. All of the colors on the top cap of the hydrant represent a different size water main. White is the most common color seen on the top of hydrants representing the most common water main size of 6".
The first generation hydrants, installed in the 1920's-1940's, are the solid barrel hydrants. The split barrel hydrant is the next generation type, installed from the 1940's-1970's, and the the newest and current type of hydrant, installed from 1980's to now, is the traffic hydrant. These are installed whenever new or replacement work is performed. They have a collar at the bottom that is designed to break away should a vehicle hit it without causing more damage to the piping system. All of our hydrants are checked and maintained twice per year.
One common misconception about fire hydrants is that if a hydrant is hit, a giant geyser will erupt like in the movies. Although that is a possibility, it is unlikely as the valve is several feet below the ground and the traffic hydrant is designed to break away without causing a flood. Some warmer parts of the country have “wet barrel” hydrants, meaning that the hydrant is full of water up to the spud. In this case, it is possible to have a geyser but these types are small in quantity as compared to the standard “dry barrel” hydrant.
We have all the hydrants shown in the pictures below. One hydrant is a futuristic looking hydrant that is designed to be completely vandal proof. This hydrant is located at our main office and was installed as a prototype for potential future installs. All the other hydrant types are spread throughout the town but there is only (1) 2 – spud traffic hydrant that exists in Bethpage. Try and find it…