I am not sure if this has already been talked about but if not here goes... I have been in the fire service for about 18 years and in my time of being in the fire service it is more than going to fires and running calls, it is also keeping up fire hydrants... Keeping them up I mean testing them, keeping them greased, making sure all the caps will come off and keeping the weeds and grass cut down around them so you can see them and know where they are located in case you need them..... I had been in the only in my dept since it is a volunteer dept to seem to understand the importance of doing this task and it has paid off but I got out of the dept in 2007 due to alot of things going on that I did not approve of.... I am wondering just how many depts do keep there hydrants cut around and maintained in case they are ever needed or do you leave it up to chance and hope that they work if needed and to heck if you can see them are not??? Yeah you may have makers in the road that points to where the hydrant is but if weeds and grass has over took it then your going to have a time delay clearing this stuff away from it just so you can hook up a hose to it!!!! It is the job of the fire dept to do simple hydrant work such as this.. The Asst Fire Chief of the dept I was on has a hydrant a few feet down below his house ( across the road from his house ) that would serve to protect his moms house and his house if it was ever needed and it has weeds all over it that would have to be got out of the way before you could connect a hose line to it, this would cause a time delay of connecting to the hydrant and every second counts at a working fire!!! This hydrant also is at the end of a long dirt road with alot of houses on it and is the closets hydrant so if a tanker shuttle had to be established this would be the closets hydrant to come and get water at... You would think the Asst Chief would get off his lazy ass and cut around around or at least get some weed killer and spray around it, uughh he keeps the grass mowed in  front of it so why not keep the hydrant cleaned around!!! There is alot more hydrants in this depts response area that is the same way, this dept can go out and buy new trucks and go to calls but cant do the simple things like keeping up there fire stations are hydrants which is part of the job, they have waisted money on some of the trucks they have bought because they never get run or go any where, all they are there for is to get ISO points!!!! The main thing I am getting at if your dept does not keep the hydrants serviced and cleaned around why NOT??? Dont come up with the excuse we dont have time or its not the fire depts job to do it, yes it is the depts job  to get out there and do it, we make time for everything else so why not this!!???