Fire Hydrants

I was driving into work one morning, my mind wandering, and for some reason I focused on finding the fire hydrants in our neighborhood.  As I drove I started to worry, because I didn’t see any fire hydrants close to our house. I finally saw one, protected by a small brick wall, then another and another. I normally don’t think about fire hydrants though it is an important part of our infrastructure.

It seems like a simple thing, ensuring that there is enough water available to fight a fire, even though it costs money to be prepared and have fire hydrants sitting there, useless, for most of the time. I know I take them for granted, only noticing them because I wasn’t thinking about other things in my life. I trust that they are in the right place and ready to use, someone inspects them, keeps them working and the water department won’t cut them off because of some dispute with the government.

This trust, this assurance is just one small piece of our society, and shows we can work together to solve a problem and support this solution, in spite of a long-term cost. Our society has decided that it is better for everyone to support this solution instead of expecting individuals to take all of the responsibility. A small example but a reminder that people can work together to help each other.

Photos by J.T. Harpster