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How to legally unleash the cooling power of NYC fire hydrants
By
Scott Heins
Published Jul 7, 2016
Modified Jul 7, 2016
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By
Scott Heins
Published Jul 7, 2016
Modified Jul 7, 2016
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New York City is facing another day of punishing heat, made only worse by the fact that most of us have no choice but to travel by way of underground train stations that currently feel like kilns shipped direct from hell.
Thankfully a little respite can be had thanks to the FDNY, who will open up a number of the city's thousands of street-level fire hydrants, if you ask. Firefighters are expected to provide spray caps free of charge upon request for any adult 18 years or older that stops by a fire house and asks for one. (According to the city, you must also show ID, and fill out a form. "The firehouse will schedule a time to turn the hydrant on and off.")
The city actually loves it when you ask them to open up a fire hydrant. According to a release from the Office of Emergency Management, fire hydrants opened illegally can waste up to 1,000 gallons of water per minute and drastically lower local water pressure. Comparatively, a legally-capped hydrant only uses 25 gallons per minute.
We're not saying that an uncapped fire hydrant is going to solve all of your heatwave problems (in fact, opening one up today might be a bad idea given that NYC is currently under a flash flood watch). This is just a reminder that cool, refreshing respite is only a twist of the wrench away.
Tagged
fdny
Fire Hydrants
Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
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