1934
Summer is not yet over and, as the heat turns up, people will be looking for relief. Most seek a pool or lake, but there is also an unconventional way to escape the heat.
Introducing the Bradley Fire Hydrant Sprinkler. This is a discontinued product for Bradley but Hydrant Sprinklers are actually still relevant today. Commonly thought to be illegal to open, there is a way to go about opening a fire hydrant and enjoying its cool water in a legal manner.
When opened illegally, a fire hydrant can release 1,000 gallons of water a minute. That waste of water can decrease water pressure drastically throughout a neighborhood and can also make it hard for firefighters to pump water out of other hydrants. Every city is different, but in New York City (where fire hydrant “sprinklers” are iconic) they have created a set of guidelines so citizens can use the fire hydrants legally and safely.
The first step is to call your local firehouse. In most cases they will then come down and open the hydrant for you and install a sprinkler cap. This sprinkler cap (much like the one Bradley use to offer) saves on water and keeps the water pressure in a neighborhood at a normal level. In New York City, the general rule is one fire hydrant per block may be opened.
Hope you enjoyed this peek into Bradley’s past. Stay tuned for more from the Archives!
1933
Source: Fertig, B. (2013, August 2). It’s OK to Open that Fire Hydrant… But Just a Little Bit. Retrieved August 12, 2014, from http://www.wnyc.org/story/309912-making-open-fire-hydrants-legal-and-safer/
