Fire Hydrant Hide ?

December 4, 2005

Is it within the hiding rules to hide a micro under a fire hydrant ?

J

December 4, 2005

I hope so, one of my hides is. :laughing: a painted micro to match a bolt. :anitongue:

December 4, 2005

I've found a number of caches on Fire Hydrants, and also have a magnetic cache painted to match the hydrant.

December 4, 2005

id say its fine as long as it dosent interfere with the use of the hydrant. whould you feel bad if you killed some guy because his house burned down.

December 4, 2005

yeah i would hope so. found a few on the bottom side of them...but i like the bolt idea.!

3k · December 4, 2005

A watertight seal is a must, especially if dogs visit the area.

Actually, I know that some, if not most, towns and cities have laws which make tampering with a fire hydrant a punishable offense. I don't know exactly what constitutes 'tampering', but I'm pretty sure these laws are meant to apply to people opening (or attempting to open) a hydrant, not to somebody sticking a magnet underneath, or retrieving same.

Now creating an entire fake hydrant which was a geocache - that would be cool. But also very wrong. :anitongue:

December 4, 2005

At the National Scout Jamboree, there were numerous cache hides on fire hydrants for their offical geocaching courses. Sent me and another geocacher looking around for quite some time.

- JD

December 4, 2005

A watertight seal is a must, especially if dogs visit the area.

Actually, I know that some, if not most, towns and cities have laws which make tampering with a fire hydrant a punishable offense. I don't know exactly what constitutes 'tampering', but I'm pretty sure these laws are meant to apply to people opening (or attempting to open) a hydrant, not to somebody sticking a magnet underneath, or retrieving same.

Now creating an entire fake hydrant which was a geocache - that would be cool. But also very wrong.

what an idea. i have one of those kicking around, hummmmmm. :anitongue:

1.4k · December 5, 2005

Check your local laws, if you tamper with a fire hydrant you may be breaking the law. It is very tempting but I would leave it alone.

December 5, 2005

Most all states have laws against tampering with Fire Hydrants. Being a Firefighter myself I don't see a problem with it as long as it DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE OPERATION OF THE HYDRANT. However a lot of places will prosecute you for tampering with a FH in any way

Edited December 5, 2005 by Prfctly Mad

December 5, 2005

It is also not good to HIDE THE HYDRANT. Just my 2 cents.

I didn't get a photo, but I saw a hydrant in my district that had a sandwich board WIRED to the hydrant. :lol:

5k · December 5, 2005

Is this an interesting spot? If the hydrant cache isn't such a good idea, surely there is someplace else where a cache could be hidden. If it's not such an interesting place... surely there's someplace else where a cache could be hidden.

Jamie

December 5, 2005

Is this an interesting spot? If the hydrant cache isn't such a good idea, surely there is someplace else where a cache could be hidden. If it's not such an interesting place... surely there's someplace else where a cache could be hidden.

Jamie

OH Yea....How bout on a light pole at your local discount retail shopping center! :lol:

7.3k · December 6, 2005

I just don't like the idea of messing in any way with things like hydrants or mailboxes. Like Jamie said, what's the point? Why bother with something that could be a problem like that? Not worth it.

Course, my dad used to be a letter carrier, and still works for the fire department, so I'm probably prejudiced.

December 6, 2005

I just don't like the idea of messing in any way with things like hydrants or mailboxes. Like Jamie said, what's the point? Why bother with something that could be a problem like that? Not worth it.

Couldn't be any worse than one I found today...a Magnetic on the underside of a power supply right next to the back door of a gas station. I can't help but HOPE the cache hider at least works at the gas station, but come on...

1.1k · December 6, 2005

My $.02, echoing some other comments on this thread:

Hydrant hides might SEEM like a reasonable idea, until you consider that a searcher might be noticed by a passing law enforcement officer and find him/herself having to explain why he/she is circling and crawling around this critical fire-fighting apparatus. Which means the bottom line is, IMHO: BAD IDEA!!!

-Dave R.

Dave's Opinions on Geocache Hiding

Dave's Note to Local Hiders

Edited December 6, 2005 by drat19

1.1k · December 6, 2005

Is this an interesting spot? If the hydrant cache isn't such a good idea, surely there is someplace else where a cache could be hidden. If it's not such an interesting place... surely there's someplace else where a cache could be hidden.

Maybe it IS an interesting intersection.

(Wow. Stoplights. An electrical box!)

Or corner.

(The houses you know. Fabulous architecture. Green grass.)

I've not (yet?) found one on a hydrant, but I do appreciate the reminder regarding the... dogs and the useage thereof.

Ew.

1.7k · December 6, 2005

I just don't like the idea of messing in any way with things like hydrants or mailboxes. Like Jamie said, what's the point? Why bother with something that could be a problem like that? Not worth it.

From this US Postal Service webpage:

Mailboxes are considered federal property, and federal law (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1705), makes it a crime to vandalize them (and to injure, deface or destroy any mail deposited in them). Violators can be fined up to $250,000 or imprisoned for up to three years for each act of vandalism.

And later in the page:

If you discover someone tampering with your or your neighbor's mailbox, obtain that person's description and that of his vehicle, including the license plate number. Immediately report the information to your local police and postmaster.

I'm sure someone's hidden a cache on or near a mailbox, but it sounds like a really bad idea.

December 6, 2005

I just don't like the idea of messing in any way with things like hydrants or mailboxes. Like Jamie said, what's the point? Why bother with something that could be a problem like that? Not worth it.

From this US Postal Service webpage:

Mailboxes are considered federal property, and federal law (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1705), makes it a crime to vandalize them (and to injure, deface or destroy any mail deposited in them). Violators can be fined up to $250,000 or imprisoned for up to three years for each act of vandalism.

And later in the page:

If you discover someone tampering with your or your neighbor's mailbox, obtain that person's description and that of his vehicle, including the license plate number. Immediately report the information to your local police and postmaster.

I'm sure someone's hidden a cache on or near a mailbox, but it sounds like a really bad idea.

I have found one affixed to a mailbox. No one bothered us when we retrieved it.

I don't see how attaching a small container to the underside of the box could be considered tampering with it. As long as it harms no one, or the mail...why should it be SUCH an issue.

JMO...for what it's worth.

5.3k · December 6, 2005

I had a small cache on hydrant for a while, I made it out of plastic plumbing fittings and paint it to match the hydrant, it looked like on of the real fittings. The hard part was finding a hydrant that would accept a magnet.

1.6k · December 6, 2005

I'm still trying to figure out how to hide a cache UNDER a fire hydrant.

December 6, 2005

Magnetic key holder under Hydrant whos base is not completly barried

J

5.9k · December 6, 2005

id say its fine as long as it dosent interfere with the use of the hydrant. whould you feel bad if you killed some guy because his house burned down.

The firefighter might be a geocacher and logging his find instead of connecting the hose like he's supposed to be doing.

:blink:

2.1k · December 6, 2005

It seems like a cache attached to a fire hydrant could lead to some trouble for the hider, the seeker, or to geocaching...

...and why bother...as other have said, unless it's a heck of a fire hydrant, why hide it there and not on a less-likely-to-be-troublesome lampost in a walmart paring lot? :blink:

jamie

December 7, 2005

I had a small cache on hydrant for a while, I made it out of plastic plumbing fittings and paint it to match the hydrant, it looked like on of the real fittings. The hard part was finding a hydrant that would accept a magnet.

This could cause a couple seconds' delay when the firefighter looks to see why the fitting FELL OFF when they tried to tighten or remove it. In the dark, your firefighter might think for a moment that they'd need a different hydrant. I would stick to the fake nuts and bolts, magnets under the flange, etc. Caps, fittings, valves and the five-sided nuts that operate them are best left alone.

One cache I'd love to see would commemorate the challenges associated with hydrants and their use. I've personally seen two cars run over fire hoses, and I've run attack lines (lines from the engine to the fire, as opposed to the supply lines from the hydrant to the engine) over parked cars when there simply wasn't a gap between all the cars parked in front of the house.

December 7, 2005

I never thought there would be a cache under there.

I suggest you use gloves when you retrieve the cache. I may have been there before you.

December 7, 2005

As an aside, my dog hates fire hydrants. She barks maniacly at them trying to make them flinch. If I drag her away, she looks back over her shoulder and snaps at it a few more times to show it who's boss. If a cache was logging a find while I walked by with my dog, they probably would mistake all the barking as being directed towards themself and get worried. I wouldn't want to upset another cacher that much, so I probably wouldnt hide a cache on a fire hydrant. That's my reasoning.

December 7, 2005

I happen to be a fire fighter. Here's my 10 cent opinion.

What's so exciting about a fire hydrant? Most are on the lawns in front of houses. Why do I want to find a cache there? But others are in locations that would allow a hide. i.e. a parking lot. (Again, not to exciting of a cache location.) But if the hyd. is near a great view or a public sculpture, then I have a reason to visit.

Anyway, if you choose to hide a cache on a hydrant, DO NOT REMOVE THE CAPS TO DO SO! If you hide it under a hydrant it may get lost if the hydrant is painted or if landscaping dirt is added up to the bottom of the hyd. Our deparment inspects all hyds at least once a year. You may loose your cache if it is discovered. However, we don't inspect below the mounting flange. You shouldn't get in trouble for attaching a magnet, but I cannot speak for all cities.

1.4k · December 8, 2005

Sprinkler heads, electrical boxes, mailboxes and fire hydrants.... I'm getting more and more cautious the longer I play this game.

It was'nt long after my first sprinkler head find that I learned to wiggle nearby sprinkler heads during my search for a cache, and now I find myself eyeballing every electrical box that might be nearby. If ground zero is anywhere close to a lightpole...You know I'm going to look under the skirt. I've wiggled god knows how many sprinkler heads. I wonder how many dollars have been spent repairing broken sprinkler heads caused by cachers looking for the right one?

It all in good faith and spirit of fun but ultimately public and/or private property is basically being vandalized as a result of some of these hides. I wouldn't want to see it progress to fire hydrants and mailboxes.

3.2k · December 8, 2005

A watertight seal is a must, especially if dogs visit the area.

Sorry, but....eeewwwwww!

December 8, 2005

I recently discouraged a local from doing a fire hydrant hide because I didn't want to wake up and see the newspaper headline"

HOUSE BURNS WHILE FD WAITS FOR BOMB SQUAD TO DECLARE MYSTERIOUS OBJECT SAFE: 3 DEAD

A lot of time, LE overreacts, but imagine this headline:

DEPUTY IGNORED BOMB THAT INJURED 2: THOUGHT IT WAS A "GEOCACHE"

We also had a recent bomb squad call for a magnetic keyholder on a blue USPS mailbox. Those mailboxes (and even the one outside your house, that YOU paid for) are Federal property. Thank God the local deputy was a geocacher and diffused the situation (no pun intended), but the Postal Inspector was NOT amused!

Of course it didn't help that the "suspicious person" (one of our members) looks a lot like Ted Kazynski!

Edited December 8, 2005 by Spencersb

December 8, 2005

I recently discouraged a local from doing a fire hydrant hide because I didn't want to wake up and see the newspaper headline"

HOUSE BURNS WHILE FD WAITS FOR BOMB SQUAD TO DECLARE MYSTERIOUS OBJECT SAFE: 3 DEAD

A lot of time, LE overreacts, but imagine this headline:

DEPUTY IGNORED BOMB THAT INJURED 2: THOUGHT IT WAS A "GEOCACHE"

We also had a recent bomb squad call for a magnetic key holder on a blue USPS mailbox. Those mailboxes (and even the one outside your house, that YOU paid for) are Federal property. Thank God the local deputy was a geocacher and diffused the situation (no pun intended), but the Postal Inspector was NOT amused!

Of course it didn't help that the "suspicious person" (one of our members) looks a lot like Ted Kazynski!

What, they thought it was a mini bomb?

December 8, 2005

What, they thought it was a mini bomb?

They didn't know what it was until they got there, all they knew is that a neighbor called 911 to report a suspicious looking person (see above) attaching something underneath the mailbox.

I know, I know, I've used the "little bitty bomb" argument before, too, but anyone who has ever had a firecracker go off in their hand knows what a small "bomb" can do. It's probably not a terrorist, but it could be some low-life's idea of a joke. Our best defense is good relations with local LE, educating them on what we do, and being responsible in how we do it.

If even you think it might cause a problem, the paranoid public that never heard of "gee o'cashing" will likely jump to the wrong conclusion.

Edited December 8, 2005 by Spencersb

December 10, 2005

OK. Someone wrote about searching sprinkler heads for caches. THIS IS AN INCREDIBILY DUMB IDEA! Building sprinklers are intened to supress fires until the FD arrives. Hiding a cache that looks like a sprinkler head is irresponsible. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??!

Another person commented about the FD not using a hydrant because we might wait until the bomb squad shows up to defuse the strange device. While I appreciate the concern, I can tell you that I don't examine a hydrant for devices prior to opening it for water supply. I don't think a key case stuck to the underside of a hydrant would be noticed unless an inspection of that hydrant is being conducted. And then it would be simply discarded.

1.4k · December 10, 2005

OK. Someone wrote about searching sprinkler heads for caches. THIS IS AN INCREDIBILY DUMB IDEA! Building sprinklers are intened to supress fires until the FD arrives. Hiding a cache that looks like a sprinkler head is irresponsible. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??!

The sprinkler heads mentioned are the type on your lawn, not on the ceiling...

December 10, 2005

We have a local cache that uses a fire hydrant. It's a great cache. The hydrant is located in front of a church known for it's fantastic garden and light displays. The cache leads you through the gardens gathering information from different plaques, to a pump house to find a benchmark and finally to the cache. There really is no other place to put the cache. The gardens are cleans, rearranged, redecorated frequesntly. There are no lightpoles in the two parking areas. (The lights are hung on the buildings) The small micro on the hydrant is perfect!

Now, the hydrant across the street from my house......I don't think so. There is nothing back here but houses!

Terri

December 10, 2005

I can tell you that I don't examine a hydrant for devices prior to opening it for water supply. I don't think a key case stuck to the underside of a hydrant would be noticed unless an inspection of that hydrant is being conducted.

Thanks for the unique perspective. Having experienced a devastating house fire in March where a mostly volunteer FD did an incredible job, I appreciate the difficult job you do.

And then it would be simply discarded.

But this is another good reason not to hide one there.

Fire Hydrant Hide ?

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