BE FDNYSMART AND ONLY OPEN HYDRANTS USING SPRAY CAPS

Opening a Fire Hydrant can be Dangerous

Wednesday, July 1, as summer vacation gets underway New Yorkers of all ages go out to the streets, often opening local fire hydrants to cool off., but open fire hydrants can be extremely dangerous so opening one on your own is illegal. An open fire hydrant releases 1000 gallons of water per minute - that's as much in an hour as a family of four will use in a year!

The free flowing water from an open hydrant lowers the water pressure throughout the system, making it harder for Firefighters to put out fires in your neighborhood and putting lives in danger.

And because hydrants can release so much water at once, the pressure can also push small children into the street where they might be hit by passing cars.

That is why it important to use a hydrant spray cap controls the amount of water that is used by an open hydrant - instead of 1,000 gallons per minute, but a hydrant with a spray cap will use 25.

Anyone over the age of 18 can visit their local firehouse and fill a request for. The officer on duty will give you an instruction sheet and tell you when the company will open the hydrant and the company will come back later in the day to close the hydrant - keeping you and your neighbors safe.

And if there are open hydrants in your neighborhood, please report them by calling 311.

For more information about open hydrants, please visit the Department of Environmental Protection page here.