# Origin of the name "Fire Plug"



## NancyNGA (Jan 12, 2017)

Where I grew up fire hydrants were always called "fire plugs."  I always wondered why.



Hollowed-out wood logs were used for water pipes in the late 1700s-early 1800s. 



When a fire occurred, the firefighters dug down, found the log pipe, and drilled a hole through it.  Water would fill the hole, forming a "wet well" to either get buckets of water, or serve as a reservoir for pumps to pull water.  When the fire was out, the hole in the pipe would be sealed by driving a wood "plug" into it. The plug's location was often noted and marked before the pipe was covered over, so the plug could possibly be used the next time,  instead of creating a new hole. 



Straightforward, huh?


----------



## Falcon (Jan 12, 2017)

Thanks Nancy.  Never knew that.   Makes sense.


----------



## Pappy (Jan 12, 2017)

We called them fire plugs too. Nice to know.


----------



## Carla (Jan 12, 2017)

Wow. Never thought about it. Have to share that tidbit with my grandkids, thanks for that!


----------



## DaveA (Jan 18, 2017)

I'd always known it as a common term, locally, but never did ask where or what the term came from.  Thanks!!


----------



## Meanderer (Jul 2, 2017)




----------



## HazyDavey (Jul 2, 2017)

Oh.. That was interesting. Thanks!!


----------



## SeaBreeze (Jul 2, 2017)

Thanks Nancy, interesting.


----------



## Falcon (Jul 2, 2017)

They are message centers for dogs.


----------



## Meanderer (Jul 3, 2017)

Quote:  "I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place" - Stephen Wright


----------



## Big Horn (Oct 7, 2017)

I remember wooden water pipes.  They may still be in use today.  However, I know of at least one town, Nederland, Colorado, that combined wooden pipes with metal hydrants.

I've been in a ghost town that only had one fire hydrant to show that there had ever been a town there.


----------



## Meanderer (Oct 7, 2017)




----------



## Big Horn (Oct 7, 2017)

I had a spark of insight that told me when wooden pipes with wooden plugs work and when they don't.  It's obvious.  It would be almost impossible to dig to water pipes in frozen ground, especially where the frost line may be five feet deep.  It wouldn't be hard to connect a vertical metal pipe to the wooden pipe.


----------

