History!
The history of water distribution is fascinating and rich with information that tells the story of how we have learned from the past to build the future of water distribution. Below are some fun facts and stories about water history.
Did you know???
Fire Plugs, A History
First Hydrant Plans Lost in a Fire
The Expression: Plug Ugly
The term 'fire plug' dates back to the early 1800s, when water mains were made from wood. The fire department (usually volunteers) would head out to the fire, dig up the cobbles down to the main, then chop into the main so that they could secure the hoses from their pumpers. When finished fighting the fire, they'd seal the main with -- yo
The term 'fire plug' dates back to the early 1800s, when water mains were made from wood. The fire department (usually volunteers) would head out to the fire, dig up the cobbles down to the main, then chop into the main so that they could secure the hoses from their pumpers. When finished fighting the fire, they'd seal the main with -- you guessed it -- a "fire plug." The next time there was a fire in the neighborhood, they'd dig up the plug and not have to cut into the main. Hence the term fire plug.
The Expression: Plug Ugly
First Hydrant Plans Lost in a Fire
The Expression: Plug Ugly
The first firefighters to put water on the fire were paid by the insurance companies. The competing local fire departments would often fight, coming to blows, over the privilege and the payout afterward. Engine crews, knowing that whoever controlled the water would extinguish the fire, would send the meanest, toughest, goons they had ahe
The first firefighters to put water on the fire were paid by the insurance companies. The competing local fire departments would often fight, coming to blows, over the privilege and the payout afterward. Engine crews, knowing that whoever controlled the water would extinguish the fire, would send the meanest, toughest, goons they had ahead of the pumper to guard the plug. Anyone from another crew who came near it would have to fight him. This is where the term plug ugly comes from.
First Hydrant Plans Lost in a Fire
First Hydrant Plans Lost in a Fire
First Hydrant Plans Lost in a Fire
The history of ‘hydrants’ begins in Pennsylvania with Frederick Graff. Frederick was born in 1774 to German emigrants. In 1797 he started as a draftsman apprentice with the Philadelphia Water Works. Graff was instrumental in building Philadelphia’s first water works and in designing the world’s first fire hydrant in 1801. Ironically the
The history of ‘hydrants’ begins in Pennsylvania with Frederick Graff. Frederick was born in 1774 to German emigrants. In 1797 he started as a draftsman apprentice with the Philadelphia Water Works. Graff was instrumental in building Philadelphia’s first water works and in designing the world’s first fire hydrant in 1801. Ironically the original design for his hydrant was lost in an 1836 fire in the US Patent Office where the blueprint of his first model was archived. Despite this tragic historical loss, hydrant designs evolved. Graff continued to work for the Philadelphia Water Works until his death in 1847. Fredrick Graff’s contributions to water systems and hydrants are foundational to our modern-day water distribution and fire hydrants.