We have all seen pictures of hydrants with their supply lines going through car windows and underneath vehicles, twisted and full of kinks. At one fire to which I was dispatched, the first-due engine established the water supply but somehow managed to kink the supply line underneath the engine, keeping the water supply from reaching the engine.
We do not often hit the hydrant as frequently as we should because of the low number of fires that we are now attending. This, in turn, allows us to become rusty at this simple task.
Today, hydrants are usually found in urban areas, but we can find them in rural areas as well. In rural areas, where perhaps a major industrial plant is located, hydrants will have their own private hydrant system. I know of a few rural towns that relied on rural water operations for a water supply, but they also had two or three hydrants within the town. Usually, this back-to-basics function will apply to a select few areas, but the principle of removing kinks from supply lines is the same.
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