Instead of a fire hydrant, they had "fire plugs". The concept of fire plugs dates to at least the 17th century. The word "fire plug" came from the wood plug that would go into the hollowed out log. The would be filled with water by a tank at another location. The first hydrates were used for public water supply from the earliest municipal water systems. They resembled faucets and were at best suited for the bucket brigade method of firefighting.
Fireman would move to cobble stones from the street and expose the wooden log. They would then take a hand drill and bore into the log and water will shoot up. Fireman could than use buckets or a hand pump to move the water to the fire. After the fire was out the fireman would would come back and put a wooden plug in the hole and place the cobble stones back and mark the spot where the plug is.
The invention of a post-or pillar-type fire hydrant is generally credited to Fredrick Graff Sr. Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works around the year 1801. It had a combination hose/faucet outlet and was of "wet barrel" design with the valve at the top. It is said that the Graff held the first patent for a fire Hydrant. The only problem is that it cannot be verified because the patent office in Washington D.C. caught on fire destroying many patent records.
In 1802, the first order for cast iron hydrates was placed with cannon marker Fox-well & Richards. In 1803 Fredrick Graff Sr. introduced an improved version of the fire hydrant with the valve in the lower portion. By 1885 Philadelphia had installed cast iron hydrants that were similar to todays model. By 1869 almost all wooden fire hydrants had been replaced by cast iron.
Fireman would move to cobble stones from the street and expose the wooden log. They would then take a hand drill and bore into the log and water will shoot up. Fireman could than use buckets or a hand pump to move the water to the fire. After the fire was out the fireman would would come back and put a wooden plug in the hole and place the cobble stones back and mark the spot where the plug is.
The invention of a post-or pillar-type fire hydrant is generally credited to Fredrick Graff Sr. Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works around the year 1801. It had a combination hose/faucet outlet and was of "wet barrel" design with the valve at the top. It is said that the Graff held the first patent for a fire Hydrant. The only problem is that it cannot be verified because the patent office in Washington D.C. caught on fire destroying many patent records.
In 1802, the first order for cast iron hydrates was placed with cannon marker Fox-well & Richards. In 1803 Fredrick Graff Sr. introduced an improved version of the fire hydrant with the valve in the lower portion. By 1885 Philadelphia had installed cast iron hydrants that were similar to todays model. By 1869 almost all wooden fire hydrants had been replaced by cast iron.