The success of a fire suppression operations hinge on having a
readily available water source. In most rural areas of the state
there is not a pressurized fire hydrant system. In many cases
this requires water to be shuttled by tanker from the closest
available source usually from a town pressurized system and it
can be difficult for firefighters to maintain an uninterrupted
water source at the scene. A dry fire hydrant is a non-
pressurized pipe system permanently installed in a water source
such as lakes, streams or ponds that permits the withdrawal of
water by drafting from a fire truck to provide a reliable water
source for fire suppression close to the incident. Below is a
diagram of a typical dry hydrant installation: Maryland Dry
Hydrants Publication As part of a federal State Fire Assistance
hazard mitigation grant, the Maryland Forest Service provided
grant funding to Volunteer Fire Departments from 2003 – 2007 for
the installation of dry fire hydrants. This program installed
114 new dry hydrants acro