Where does Germany put its fire hydrants? | Response to

[@andreashabermas7964]

You now are officially the "Sendung mit der Maus" for foreigners.

[@henningerhenningstone691]

Not just for foreigners! 😁

[@rkneerzte]

Die Sendung mit der Katze.

[@Asperger0815]

Now give him a blue elephant as a sidekick and he is good to go...

[@noisykestrel]

​@@rkneerzteDie lief tatsächlich eine Zeitlang auf Arte😁

[@NicolaW72]

🙂👍

[@ChaoticDucc]

As a German, I found this very interesting.

[@taminy2051]

Reeboss always teaches me very interesting facts of my own country.

[@enderpumpkin13]

Me too

[@pok81]

Überrascht mich ja, wieviele das offenbar nicht wissen. Wurde bei mir schon in der Grunschule erklärt und war dann Zeitvertreib auf dem Schulweg, die Hydranten und Wasseranschlüsse zum Schild zu finden (mit Grundschulkind-typischen Riesenschritten pro Meter).

[@BlueFlash215]

I can't wait for you guys to walk down the street or around your house only to discover yellow and blue signs that look similar. Did you recently move here? I've never met anybody who doesn't know how to read these

[@taminy2051]

@@BlueFlash215 I’ve never lived anywhere else. When I asked my parents as I kid I was told to shut up. Nice of you to look down on people who most likely had a different upbringing than you!

[@svejobaron]

As a german voluntary firefighter I must say "Da kann man nicht meckern". Neat and simple explanaition, I would have needed at least double the time.

[@Nala15-Artist]

ONE thing you can do with that information ... DON'T PARK ON THEM!

[@automation7295]

Why the hell would someone put a fire hydrant underground when regular fire hydrants are easily accessible?

[@CologneCarter]

Dang you got me. I honestly have never thought about that, even though I knew what those signs meant. I'm pretty sure I never have been anywhere with hydrants on legal parking spots. But in order to find my car where I left and in the same condition I will make sure to keep an eye out and never to park on top of those in the future.

[@Heimweasel]

@@automation7295 it is an anti Freeze decision, an Underground Hydrant Freeze less, do to direct Connection to the Main Waterline.

[@Liggliluff]

​@@automation7295 underground fire hydrant is a regular fire hydrant. I think you mean overground fire hydrant

[@AxGerm756]

​​@@automation7295 1. You can drive over them, when they are not needed 2. They won't take up valuable space 3. They are invisible and those large red above hydrants won't ruin the look of your town 4. You can't run them over like above ground hydrants, who spill water across the whole town when that happens... 5. They are less prone to freezing, because very often the above ground hydrants do NOT let the water out after you shut them off because the drainage is clocked with dirt. And then they are frozen solid when it's winter. 6. They require less maintenance since they are protected from the elements under ground. So less rust and corrosion. 7. They are less prone to manipulation and to people trying to steal stuff or using them as toys 8. People won't try to steal water from them, because you need special quite expensive equipment to get water from them

[@berndbrotify]

One thing you could do with this information is: Find out where the nearest hydrant to your home is, and make sure it's always accessible by keeping it free from leaves in the autumn and snow/ice in the winter, so in case of a fire at your home, it can easily be found by the firefighters. I remember one fire where we knew the approximate location of the hydrant (from the sign), but still had to search for it for a few minutes, as it was covered under 10+cm of soil, and even grass growing over it.

[@ThePixel1983]

Exactly. Maybe people will better understand when we say: "IF YOU PARK ON A HYDRANT, IT MAY BE YOUR HOUSE THAT'S ON FIRE FOR LONGER THAN NECESSARY!"

[@senfdazu2230]

Also don't paint over the bloody thing! The water tank in the fire engine will last for a few minutes and they won't go in without secure water supply. Removing or manipulating such signs can result in a hefty fine or even jailtime and can put your own family in danger.

[@patrickkeller2193]

That's why we walk the citiy once to twice a year and check every hydrant.

[@Simoxs7]

You guys don’t do yearly Hydrantenschmieren? We open every hydrant around fall, inspect them for damages and put some foil around the cover so it can’t freeze shut.

[@ralfbaechle]

There should be regular maintenance. Yes, the seasons are ruthless and may hide a hydrant. And even if there are no signs, there are Hydrantenbücher, lists of all fire hydrants in an area. More recently those are no longer kept in paper form but on tablets. And in small towns many firemen know every hydrant anyway. It's what firemen look out when talking a walk 🙂

[@DeputatKaktus]

Volunteer here. Hydrants are to be found every 100-140 meters. The pipe diameter multiplied by 10 gives you the amount of water the pipe can deliver every minute. A fire alarm system control panel will indeed show you which component has triggered the alarm and in what sequence they were triggered if there are multiple ones. Each smoke detector and alarm button is marked on a „Laufkarte“. Each of those contains the exact route and location. When a fire alarm system is triggered, the siren (and the evacuation announcement, if the system has one) will stay on until the fire brigade is done checking everything. The reason is that if you have employees standing outside, you want them to stay there. If you switch off the siren, people will assume that „everything is okay now“ and return to the building. Which you as a fire brigade obviously do not want until you have given the All Clear. If there is an actual fire, you want everyone out and not have to conduct a search. Yes, the siren is annoying as hell. And it doesn’t help with radio communication. Also: there are parts of a building that only the fire brigade has access to, and maybe select trained maintenance staff. For instance, the riser rooms. We have special keys for that. The same is true for the control panels. Even if you as the building owner know 100% that there is no fire, the fire brigade will still come. They are required by law and they have to check and reset the alarm. And if someone has pushed an alarm button, the system cannot be reset until someone has physically inspected the box with the button in it. Those have their own reset mechanism. If you just reset the alarm at the control panel without resetting the button („Handdruckmelder“), the system will trigger again almost immediately. Whenever a fire alarm system is triggered, it will also automatically unlock a key box that has either one or several master keys or key cards or fobs for the building. The keys are located in lock cylinders and you sometimes need to turn them to remove them. Those safes are usually built into walls somewhere near the entry area to a building or site. The outside door will unlock during an alarm and present a door that the fire chief will need to unlock with a special key (every city has their own). And it can only be locked again once all keys have been returned. If a fire suppression system has triggered, that too can only be turned off by the fire brigade. Little known fact: Many systems also have a „Freischaltelement“ that allows the fire brigade to trigger the alarm system from outside the building in case it has failed. In such cases they use it to also get access to the key box. A word on smoke detectors: They can be set off by things other than smoke. High humidity and dust being the more common things. I have attended alarm ms where smoke detectors were set off because a maintenance crew was spray painting some piece of equipment. Those are always fun and they often happen in the middle of the night around 1:30 or 2:30 for some reason. 😅

[@wonderb0lt]

Very informative, thank you for the additional details!

[@majorpat8866]

Small info you may already know The reason why more false alarm goes off in the night is because. During the Day the BMA is set on Anwessend this means someone who knows the safety procedures is there. He can React in case a smoke detector is going off and can check if is a false alarm or a serious fire. (Ther is a time limit for that). But in the Night most Staff is at home an most likely also the guy who knows how the BMA functions. So in this case the BMA is set on Abwessend and every smoke alarm is going immediately to the specific Central (not the one you get on the Phone wen you cal 112) with will call the Firedepartment and then the mayham beginnns🚒

[@traylor2502]

Since I have moved into Germany 8 years ago I have successfully triggered the smoke detector in my apartment 4 times with: making goulash, making goulash, making popcorn, making goulash. It's nice to know that the device works :) It's not nice that it has a taste of its own :( There was a time when the apartment next to me was uninhabited for three months and the battery in the detector was close to dying. For a couple of weeks I heard the warning beeping every 5 minutes. Not the best time of my life.

[@einarbolstad8150]

@@traylor2502 On behalf of your neighbors, and local feuerwache, please refrain from making goulash.

[@traylor2502]

@@einarbolstad8150 You don't understand it. For me it's a challenge!

[@frederikhein4195]

I'm a voluntary firefighter from Germany. This video explains the topic very well, great work. As for the usefulness of this information for the public, please do not park on hydrants or on emergency access paths. We'd appreciate it

[@semurobo]

Great information, some very small corrections that are probably only relevant to firefighters: Above ground hydrants are only uncommon in residential areas. In industrial areas, they are standard (often in addition to below ground hydrants) However, the signs marking the position of a hydrant are rarely seen for above ground hydrants, since they are, very visible and painted red. They will probably only be put up when the hydrant is hard to spot from the street. The sign for "Löschwassereinspeisung" is usually referring to a system of hydrants inside a building, that are often not connected to any water utilities. Instead, its simply empty water pipes of the same diameter as a firehose, that will have acces points in multiple places inside the building. It prevents firefighters from laying hoses up multiple stories. Instead, they just need to xarry enough hoses for their attack line and attach it on the story they need it. Its very useful for places like parking garages, where you dont want to maintain water lines that might freeze up.

[@herrhartmann3036]

2:25 Small update: There are now also orange signs for fiberoptic cables.

[@GalacticCommanderMars]

They are mostly newland.

[@fisch37]

​@@GalacticCommanderMars of course. They're for internet after all

[@TheDoctorIWho]

@@GalacticCommanderMars Good one!

[@seneca983]

Germany has fiber optic cables?

[@fisch37]

@seneca983 if you're in the middle of nowhere it does :D

[@derkaempfer_hd]

As german volunteer firefighter I say, good job and "Verteiler, Wasser marsch!"

[@hegemonys]

This is the kind of information that one sees everyday and doesn't understand what it means and in some cases might be too lazy to google each of those signs. Really likes this video. Its not something that will help in everyday life, but certainly something that might help during emergency situations. Would recommend to do more such videos on general aspects in Germany. Also, love the fact that you always put the name of important phrases both in English and German in your video (on the top left) and love the fact that your videos contain native German and English subtitles. Helps one learn German more easily.

[@foxlima]

4:03 "Löschwassereinspeisung" In bigger buildings there are often built-in piping systems, so case of a fire the firefighters do not have to handle and drag around many hoses. The attack squad goes in, with only 4 or so 20 meter hoses, upon reaching the fire, they simply connect their hose on a "Steigleitung". A water filled hose is quite heavy, so thats a quick way to move and get some water to the nozzle. Most of these "Steigleitungen" are kept empty from water for easier maintenance and are only filled in case of a fire.

[@larsiparsii]

Now THIS is the oddly specific niche information I originally subscribed for!

[@supermonkeywtf09]

Glad to have this question I wondered about upon glancing them, and forgotten shortly after, answered at last!

[@MagereHein]

Hey, those oval fire hydrant covers and the location signs look familiar! The Netherlands use the same system. Kind regards from Rotterdam.

[@JackDaniel432]

I lived in a house with 7 floors. And this house was equipped with "Steigleitung trocken". This means this is the only supply for the water to the fire brigade. The normal water supply is to weak for that. This pipe is empty. On each floor there is an access point to that pipe. In case of fire the fire brigade needs to connect the hydrant to that pipe and then can get water on every floor. I thing they do this this way, because the pipe would last much longer if it is not in contact with water. The fire brigade also did some training in this house to get used to the local facilities.

[@joachimfrank4134]

It's dry to prevent damage by freezing in winter.

[@casperbetz1949]

No, the pipes are fine with the water, but the water isn' t fine in the pipes, meaning that the reason they are not connected directly to the building's own water supply has to do with possible germ contamination of the drinking water. The water in such special purpose piping will be stagnant inside these pipes over very long periods of time, giving germs time to accumulate. A physical separation between the two supply systems is therefore Vorschrift, which is usually done by installing an open supply tank, similar in principle to the supply tank of a central heating system. That tank complicates matters and makes the whole thing more expensive both in installation and in maintenance. Also, in case of fire, the building's own water supply might fail, due to damage and that is the last thing you would want during firefighting. When there are more than one of these Steigleitungen with separate access points outside the house, firefighters can switch between them with relative ease should one them fail or be inaccessible in the first place, which makes the whole system more robust. Disclaimer: I am no expert on the subject myself, but this is how I remember how a technician who seemed reasonably knowledgable explained things to me when we got our new Steigleitungen in our apartment building a few years ago - one in each stairwell btw.

[@gargoyle7863]

And it can't freeze or cause water damage. An unused extra "vet" water pipe is a hazard to property itself.

[@ThePixel1983]

Note: Even when fighting a fire on the ground floor, there's always a pump between the hydrant and the nozzle. Water pressure can be unreliable, and I heard that when we take water in front of the station, the residents nearby all lose water pressure and have to wait to finish showering 😁

[@thebaker8637]

the English term is “dry riser”, as opposed to a “wet riser” which is always filled with water :) this is also super common in the UK, pretty much every high rise building has a dry riser whose inlet is right next to a hydrant connection.

[@stevebartley628]

In Arizona there are small blue reflective markers in the middle of the street that indicate where the hydrants are ( on the side of the street of course ). Since these markers are of some thickness, to my knowledge, they aren’t used in cities where snow removal equipment is needed.

[@mickimicki]

When I was about 7 or 8, me and my friends spent a lot of time checking out all these signs around our neighbourhood and on the way to school. Almost felt like a treasure hunt!

[@anakingugutzer8368]

As a German voluntary firefighter living near the now gone frontier between Baden and Württemberg, I must say, that not all underground hydrants are standardised. There is a difference between depth, the screwing and closing mechanism of the hydrants in Baden and Württemberg. And I find it quite interesting

[@Orbis92]

Thanks for educating me about the hydrants and signs in my country in a foreign language :D

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

1:06 In Poland (or at least in Poznań) we have plently of exactly the same covers. The word hydrant is spelled the same.

[@lambda6564]

In addition to that: Many fire departments also have big books of highly detailled maps of their operating area. They have hydrants marked on them. Depending on how large your city is, these books can be quite chunky.

[@PotsdamSenior]

They also have floorplans of larger buildings, with all the relevant information. Like where to park the fire engines, where to put up ladders, location of emergency exits or first aid equipment, where to find the emergency keys etc.

[@KatzeRegi]

@@PotsdamSenior Another thing, in regards to the BMZ sign: There are also plans of the building at the Brandmeldezentrale for the firefighters so they know how to get to the fire detector that triggered

[@KaiHenningsen]

@@KatzeRegi We're definitely a belt-and-suspenders society in that respect.

[@ThePixel1983]

Often those hydrant plans don't exist, are horribly out of date, or are a list and not a map, with entries like "on the dirt track in what once was planned to become residential area bla"

[@lukasrentz3238]

​@@ThePixel1983I work for a local Water Supplier. We sent updated Plans of the Hydrants to the local Fire Departments every Autumn (just last Week 148 Maps).

[@gamingforlive2150]

Funfact to 1:40 You can take the diameter * 10 to roughly estimate the flow of Liters per Minute (we do that quiet a lot as firefighters)

[@MartinBrenner]

When the U.S. still had all their bases in Germany they also brought their own hydrants. In my home town these remained for some years after they left and got painted with nice art.

[@mopsmensch]

I guess an important symbol in public place that would be especially good to know for everyone is the indicator for where the next defibrillator is. Those are often in public buildings but also more and more often in shops and busy streets. The symbol is a white heart with bolt in its center on a green background and a white plus symbol in the upper right corner. Sometimes, there is also an arrow to point you in the right direction if its not right there. It is similar to most exist signs, color-wise. Btw, I loved Clyde's cameo. Such a healthy purr.^^

[@weeardguy]

That completely depends on the type of AED. The ones that are for 'public' use in The Netherlands are locked as far as I know: they are protected/locked by locks that require a code to unlock, the code is given to specific people of the BHH (Burger HartHulp, Civilian Cardiac Aid) who had training in CPR and use of one. It could be you also get one when talking to a dispatcher from the emergency services, but I don't know. The locks are there because of theft. The ones that are free to grab are always in offices and shops, but usually at places where the general public can't just go and get them.

[@JainZar1]

"Löschwassereinspeisung" is also for a dry pipe hydrant system in a building. Not every building needs a wet pipe hydrant system, which is more costly to maintain. A dry system is normally empty, but if the building is on fire, the fire fighters can either enable the system to be filled with water from the BMZ or use a Löschwassereinspeisung to pump water from a hydrant via their trucks. The latter option also means you don't need to maintain pumps, etc.

[@kirgan1000]

Sweden have a similar system, but there is a red metal "arrow" that point toward the fire hydrants (that is under the ground) and there are white numbers on the arrow to tell you the distance.

[@SGWChaosteam]

I‘m a fireman and had to explain this to my american girlfriend. Showed her our fire station and truck and she was really confused about the screw in hydrant (the „standrohr“) we carry on the truck. 😂

[@andreasu.3546]

"Standrohr"

[@momokochama1844]

@@andreasu.3546 😏🤭

[@uweseemann8571]

Anyone with a German driving licence knows that parking over hydrants is prohibited, even if parking is otherwise permitted there by traffic signs! (Road traffic regulations § 12 paragraph 3, point 4). If you park over a hydrant, you must expect damage to your vehicle if the fire brigade removes your vehicle in the event of a fire.

[@sinform9714]

The Police can also Remove the Car by towing.

[@ThePixel1983]

If only. Most people ask me "wait, what do those look like? Oh I never pay attention to those..."

[@weppwebb2885]

telling people they can't park somewhere? Yeahh, we all know how well that works😅

[@danielrose1392]

I am not aware of a single road where this rule would apply. It only applies to parking on the sidewalk, but whenever this is allowed at least in my areas the cities use additional markings for each parking spot, omiting hydrants and other infrastructure.

[@automation7295]

What about parking near the fire hydrant (not directly in over or in front of it), it that also illegal in Germany?

[@Nils.Minimalist]

Ein wunderschönes deutsches Wort, welches ich auf Arbeit öfter sehe und bei dem ich immer schmunzeln muss, ist: Wandhydrant 😂

[@ropeburn6684]

Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer Saß ne kleine Wanzen Kam ein kleiner Elefant Wollte an den Wandhydrant Bracht' die Wanz' zum Tanzen

[@JV-pu8kx]

Nice knowing about the other utilities, as well.

[@HotelPapa100]

I personally am fond of the "Hausfrauenhydrant". A name for the large thermos coffee pots with a pump mechanism...

[@deineroehre]

@@HotelPapa100 These pump pots are known as EDV-Hydrant here because the IT-Staff has the largest demand of coffee...

[@MajinOthinus]

@@deineroehre The entirety of IT runs solely off coffee. Food is optional, caffeine is not.

[@Ja_ich259]

I´ll be honest: I see these signs every day but had no idea what they actually mean. Thank you for this video i never knew I had to watch.

[@anetakibanaki6350]

I learnt about this a very long time ago in "Löwenzahn " if I remember right. They made a game out of it finding them. Or that is at least what I remember.

[@heudorferfasnet]

As a swabian firefighter i have to notice that especially in Württemberg deep level hydrants exist. They require extra long standpipes and long tools which only fix with that deep level type of hydrants.

[@TheNodyme]

happy to live in an area in Germany where we almost only have above-ground hydrants. Now that I'm typing it I wonder why...

[@Feuerwehrrecht]

Very well explained!

[@jonistan9268]

Das erklärt, warum mir in Deutschland noch nie ein Hydrant aufgefallen ist. In der Schweiz sind diese normalerweise oberirdisch, ähnlich wie die im Video gezeigten amerikanischen Hydranten. Ich muss mich mal achten, ob es auch unterirdische gibt, der vor unserem Haus ist jedenfalls oberirdisch. Manchmal sind die auch ganz nett bemalt.

[@gargoyle7863]

Auf dem Land hat man in Deutschland auch viele überirdisch.

[@catboattwo]

In Deutschland kann man die Hydranten in den meisten Fällen als Unterflurhydranten ausführen, weil die Wasserleitungen auf denen sie sitzen normalerweise weit genug neben der Straße liegen ( meistens im Bereich der Geh- oder Radwege ) und deshalb eigentlich nicht zugeparkt werden können. Im Bereich meiner Ortsfeuerwehr haben wir ca. 120 Unterflurhydranten und fast alle liegen in Bereichen neben der Straße, wo entweder sowieso nie jemand parken würde, oder wo das gar nicht möglich ist.

[@AxGerm756]

Die werden von den Städten (außer wenn es nicht anders geht) bevorzugt unterirdisch aufgestellt. Oberirdische Hydranten findet man in Deutschland fast nur (noch) da wo wirklich sehr sehr viel Wasser in sehr kurzer Zeit benötigt werden könnte zum Löschen. Also Einkaufszentren, Krankenhäuser und (ältere) Wohnblöcke, Ämter, Behörden. Da werden oft oberirdische Genommen, weil dort fast immer auch Leitungen verlegt sind die mehr Wasser führen. Und das kann man dann mit einem Oberirdischen Hydranten besser und paar Sekunden schneller zum Löschen hernehmen. Aber die Städte versuchen schon (besonders wenn der Wasserversorger auch der Stadt gehört) Druck zu machen damit möglichst keine Oberirdischen aufgestellt werden wann immer sie können. Denn jedes Mal wenn ein oberirdischer Umgefahren wird, muss der Wasserversorger das bezahlen. Die die Dinger umfahren sind nämlich nahezu immer über alle Berge bevor jemand sieht wer es war. Also bleiben die Wasserversorger immer auf den Kosten sitzen. Dann werden Oberirdische tatsächlich genauso oft zugeparkt wie unterirdische Hydranten. Nur bei unterirdischen Hydranten fällt es nur dann auf wenn das jemand sieht oder wenn die Feuerwehr ihn braucht. Bei oberirdischen Hydranten fällt das schon dem nächsten der dein Auto da parken sieht schon auf. Also sind fast alle Abschlepper der statt nur damit beschäftigt ständig den oberirdischen Hydranten freizuräumen, weil sich die Feuerwehr sonst beschwert. Während man bei den unterirdischen das Problem als Stadt einfach ignorieren kann. (Weil Feuerwehrleute selten aus dem Kopf jeden Unterirdischen Hydranten Standort kennen bzw da nach suchen in ihrer Freizeit. Bei einem Oberirdischen fällt es aber halt jedem auf) Dann "stören oberirdische Hydranten das schöne Stadtbild" Sind meistens verrostet Und Hunde tun tatsächlich oft dran machen, was sie eher noch schneller rosten lässt und dann auch nen negativen Geruch erzeugt. Deshalb sind die Städte immer froh wenn sie sich irgendwie davor drücken können einen Hydranten oberirdisch aufzustellen und ihn stattdessen unterirdisch ausführen können. Und wenn es keinen akuten Bedarf gibt ihn oberirdisch aufzustellen, dann wird auch keiner oberirdisch aufgestellt. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@TheRealGurke]

One really important information that these signs give to you is, that you should not park your car on the cover of a hydrant. In case of a fire, this can be some important time for the fire brigade to get to the hydrant in time.

[@ohauss]

Though one good thing about this type of hydrant is also that they are often located in the middle of the street, so that if you're parking on top of them, you'll be towed in no time either way.

[@nurderbvbabernurderbvb]

I think it is good to know for visitors. Because than they can pay attention not to block them. So far as i know, it is not forbidden by law to block them, but if we need them, and there is a car over them, its a time waste to remove the car, which we can, but we need time, people and the car can get damaged in the process.

[@nirfz]

Just wanted to add something to the sign and explanation at 4:20 Often times the water lines for fire extinguishing inside such buildings are "dry" = empty under normal circumstances, but when the fire brigade arrives, they don't need to carry anything up the stairs and stuff, they connect their pumps to that supply input and take the stored hoses in the floor they need to be. So those hoses and lines are not for "laymen use" but for the fire bragade. Everyone else who is first at the occurence of a fire is supposed to use the fire extinguishers that are mandatory. That is a thing not just in germany, but europe in general i think. (i am not from or in germany)

[@JamesBondHH16]

Ha on the sign is Hausanschluss it means that if it is used some house doesn't get water

[@baritonfelix]

The above-ground fire hydrants are frequently seen in the grounds of companies, schools and hospitals in my area. Some towns also retain a number of them on or near sidewalks. Not all of them are painted red.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Quite often those pipes do have a higher diameter too.

[@haydenwayne637]

There are two just within 100m of my house. They are quite common in villages.

[@ElektrischInkorrekt]

Yes, these OH-hydrants are quite common in villages. Whilst my time in the youth fire brigade and the early carreer we trained either with these OH-Hydrants or taking the Water from a local Water reservoir like special extinguishing ponds, normal lakes or rivers, as they are way more common than UH-Hydrants. With Underground hydrants we only worked two or three times.

[@carstenroters7389]

The fire brigade also has maps in which the hydrants are marked.

[@johncrwarner]

The house opposite had an attic room put in for the children as a result one Tuesday morning two men turned up and put two no parking signs outside our building Hilariously there were residents cars parked in the new no parking zone. They got ticketed too. We phone up to find out that because the house opposite now has five floors there needs to be a space for a ladder truck to get people down.

[@pirap78]

Also, at 3:43 you can see the "PV" symbol above BMZ/SPZ. This conveys that the building has photovoltaics, which is important for the fire brigade to know as well. You will sometimes also find directions to the main switch for these installations to prevent electrocuting firemen on the job ⚡

[@weeardguy]

For all other foreigners: the same signs can be found in The Netherlands. In the areas in my city, built in the 80's, hydrant-covers are the same as in the video, but are always found at the center of a large concrete tile. These used to be painted white in the past, but that paint has worn out over the years. Ah well, we've got the signs and they are almost always in places where cars can't park.

[@CyberDustCapsuled]

I'm a German teacher and I learned something. 👍

[@tarickw]

The Dutch sign for the location is the same so I would guess there is some standard at play here

[@Liggliluff]

Seems to be so around central Europe or German-influenced Europe

[@tarickw]

The dutch standard is NEN 1184

[@Pantomas-PG]

In some Cities you can Rent a pipe whitch is equipt whit a Water Counter for extracting Water from Hydrands. This is often used for Festivals or Carnival.

[@marge2548]

@@AltIng9154 I think this is actually possible in any city. We did it to drill a shaft for our geothermal heat pump.

[@johanneslinnemann6660]

The technical term is "Standrohr" ( standing pipe) and a common use case during summer is filling a pool 😅

[@nigelogilvie9450]

Useful that the authorities provide spectacles in case the arriving fire brigade have poor eyesight. (3m 26s)

[@tickyballart4325]

Als Kinder in den 70ern war es für uns ein Spiel, diese Schilder und nach den Schildern die Hydranten zu finden.

[@la-go-xy]

When were the above ground hydrants stopped? There were some in the 1970s in Germany (in the North at least)?

[@tickyballart4325]

@@la-go-xy I don't know, have never seen one in my entire life (not in NRW).

[@la-go-xy]

@@tickyballart4325 Those were gray with red and white stripes at the top, bit different shape than those in the US.

[@bookllama8158]

@@la-go-xy I remember the above ground ones from Bavaria in the 90s and early 2000s. They were red. Not sure if they are still around.

[@aaronwhite1786]

I think one of my favorite "that's done differently overseas" things was seeing the Amsterdam trash cannisters underground that NotJustBikes made a video on forever ago. Seemed like a really cool idea for everyone' involved. As an American that hasn't been overseas as much as I would like (read: at all) it's always cool seeing the little and big differences between countries.

[@3211learza]

unfortunately not an "overseas" thing, just an Amsterdam thing, but those sure are cool

[@automation7295]

@@3211learza Underground trash containers does exists outside the Netherlands.

[@3211learza]

@@automation7295 oh sorry, I might've been overly specific there - obviously Amsterdam isn't *unique* in this, but it's definitely not a widespread thing, neither in the netherlands nor in Europe broadly

[@AleaumeAnders]

@@3211learza Yep, they are much less common elsewhere. Here in Germany you'll find similar systems for recycling, though sometimes? excluding the "trash" parts due to those needing much more regular emptying than frex glass recycling bins. They are also mostly restricted to densely inhabited inner city areas, where walled off areas for the huge recycling bins are just not available.

[@fatdad64able]

You can even find these signs on American Military Bases in Germany.

[@0ZeldaFreak]

There are obvious pros and cons to each system. With an underground hydrant, you can keep the whole system full of water, because you placed it under the frost line. Also you can't have someone knocking it over. With an overground system you can spot them easier. I've seen videos from firefighters where they need to look on maps to find the next suitable source. I think everyone does need to do it, when they have a big fire, because they need different loops, to take more out. Obviously you can't go to 2 100mm hydrants that are in the same loop and pull out the full amount. I also want to point out that as a non fire fighter, you might be still interested to know where one is. You can get permission to use them. As a private person you might rent a meter from the water department to fill your pool. When they price it reasonable, this is a real benefit. In Germany you usually get billed from the fresh water and sewage and they calculate the sewage amount by the fresh water you used. With a pool you don't usually don't drain them, at least for a season. You can save some money. The next benefit is that it's way faster. If you live in a more rural place, the fire brigade might just do it for you. Some jobs might require you to use water outside. They can get a meter permantly. But with both cases, they get a pipe with a meter installed and they need to pay for each drop of water.

[@mawi4112]

a lad of mine in the junior section tried installing one, it flew up and hit him in the jaw, poor lad, fortunately it only shifted his teeth a bit

[@AlanEvans789]

The signs for hydrants in the UK are actually one of the things you can be questioned on in the driving test. Would I be right in thinking that it's the same in much of continental Europe? Also seen some comments on the similarities in the signs from country to country. My expectation would be that there are international norms for the signs, just like there are for most road signs across much of the world. Looking at you USA for not using them!

[@eagle-jt]

do you live in Aschaffenburg? Because most of signs are from there

[@Cremantus]

Great!

[@listohan]

I live in Australia but have visited Germany a few times. I didn't know any of this stuff but enjoyed the visit anyway. Would another visit be more enjoyable now? I fear I am too old to find out. Being a tourist is hard work.

[@julianspricht]

As a German, I learned a lot

[@Ausknutz]

I´ve been living in Germany for over a year and I always asked myself what these signs mean. Now I know, thanks Rewboss!

[@marcelgrimberg8411]

I am a super intendend in germany, and in my work i do mainetenance and check on this " BMZ" and water hydrand, diesel engines, valves for emergency water pumping like you show in pictures. Good explaining from you.👍👌

[@netowl3922]

By and large, I find Germans and Germany VERY efficient and straightforward. In an emergency, excellence is doing away with as much guesswork as possible.

[@ribaldc3998]

As a German, I've learnt something again😁

[@peterebel7899]

Are all Hydrants in Germany British Expats?

[@holger_7916]

1:08 The shape of the caps is oval because this distinguishes them from all other caps. It is therefore only possible to determine whether it is a hydrant by feeling it.

[@andreasu.3546]

Welcome, prospective firefighters! Now that you know where to find the underground hydrant, onto the more important question of how to get rid of the vehicle, that is inevitably going to be parked above it?

[@starlinguk]

I, too, watched the Maus.

[@MrGreatplum]

That was one happy cat at the end! 😂

[@I_Lik3_Plan3s]

Extrem gut erklärt wird genau so bei der jf erklärt

[@holger_7916]

3:26 Cool. They come with a cheap pair of reading glasses from the supermarket. Good idea.

[@gustavoflamme9319]

Hi. My Name is Gustavo. I look since ages your videos and tjey are great. Now that you started with firebrigades, i had an offer. I made live presentations about right handel in fire situation and first aid. If i give you the information, could you made videos about it. Its a theme that, as fireman and paramedic, concern me. Sorry for my poor english. Hold like this! G.

[@GALM1Cipher]

thx rew, i am off to drink from the german fire hydrant

[@JuniorKDK]

Diese Kommentarsektion ist nun Eigentum der BRD

[@mattiasthorslund6467]

In Sweden, the sign that indicates the location of the underground hydrant is a red arrow which points in the actual direction (no need for this many meters straight, this many meters left/right). The number on the sign indicates the distance in meters, with one decimal.

[@IesKorpershoek]

The same goes for the Netherlands, same signs

[@timyee22]

There is a "Faustregel" for example if it's a H 100 take it *10 for the liters per minute

[@martinstent5339]

Brit here. We learned to interpret the hydrant signs in Junior school (at least I did in the early 1960s). I'm supposing they still do!

[@alistairbannerman8528]

Pretty sure we never covered that in the 90s. Postbox initials yes, but not hydrants.

[@berlinberlin4246]

And now we want a video about ALL other fire brigade signs!

[@jan-eric-schacht]

When I am out, walking with my boys (4 and 6), we often look for this kind of signs and make a game out of it, who sees them first. It is important to have kind of the imformation, where there is the next hydrant to inform the fire brigade to deploy even faster in case of an emergency in the proximity.

[@oleotten]

Nice explained! "Überflurhydranten"/above ground hydrants are often in industrial areas because they can deliver more water.

[@rheingold4885]

Weeks ago I talked to some firemen who just did a 3D digital map of fire hydrants in Bielefeld. They catalogued them in a digital map, which the fire fighters can find/search with a 3D headset in an emergency, to find the hydrants easier. I didn´t know they were doing such maps.

[@Hoehlenmaensch]

Did you know that the hydrants in Württemberg (not Baden) sit deeper than in the rest of germany?

[@casperbetz1949]

There are a few things that sit deeper there than in the rest of Germany.^^

[@gargoyle7863]

why?

[@Engy_Wuck]

@@gargoyle7863 it's cheaper to only do a clutch on the main water pipe where you have a manhole anyway because that's where the building water pipes go off, and have a bit longer hydrant pipe on the firefighter vehicles, than to build a separate pipe, with a separate cover and water drainage when closing the valve (you don't want it to freeze) every few hundred meters.

[@Ja_ich259]

@@Engy_Wuck Its called: Koschte g´spart.

[@Bloinkyboof]

nice

[@Inucat]

my town for some reason has above ground fire hydrants, which I had never seen before in Germany. We learned what the signs meant in primary school where we walked through the streets close to our school and counted out where the covers would be. No idea why we needed to know that at that age but I always remembered it.

[@DeathstroketheTerminator]

What you didn't mention and admittedly it is a very rare site these days is a "Fallmantelhydrant" or in english fall coat (meaning covering) hydrant. It has at the name suggests (we germans aren't creative when naming things after all) a metal cover that before using you first habe to un-screw and "let fall" for the pipe connections to be accesible. They are meant to gibe extra protection against damage, weathering and unauthorized usage. However the rarity of these hydrants in addition to them often being the sole hydrant around (which is oftne the reason why they havent been replaced) means that even the fire brigade can sometimes struggle with taking them into operation when needed. In my hometown we only had maybe 2-3 of those and every once in a while we would drive up to them during training just to re-familiarise us with how to correctly operate them.

[@jerryweirdspeed]

Schwyzerdütsch könntest Du mal machen. "Parkieren verboten. Fehlbare werden polizeilich verzeigt!"

[@michaelschuckart2217]

oder "werden gebüsst"

[@rkneerzte]

*Schweizer Hochdeutsch

[@jerryweirdspeed]

@@rkneerzte Thx!

[@NicolaW72]

😃

[@morbvsclz]

You may or may not believe it: But given that you have just provided information on stuff I see everyday and that somehow just blends into the scenery, without me ever bothering to find out what it means, I was actually really interested to have these knowledge gaps filled and wish you weren't afraid of getting us bored 😀 I'd have kept watching for 20+ minutes of this. But I do really appreciate the video nonetheless.

[@ralfbaechle]

The hydrant marking on the cover is important as there might be something else under that cover - and you don't want to waste your time on opening the wrong lid when water is urgently needed to fight a fire. You may think it's minor - but at times (bad maintenance) corrosion may make lids hard to cover but some sand might cause that too. Or ice in the winter. The signs can be pretty important to find the hydrant. Think of dirty roads where the cover blends in or bad visual conditions. Wet roads, night or worst, snow. The underground variant is mostly used where installing the overground variant is not possible such as in city centres. I think the overground variant is actually more common overall. It also has the advantage that it can be installed off the road and won't impede traffic when in use. That is important because sometimes they are in use for a long time for non-firefighting purposes, for example for construction work.

[@deineroehre]

Hydrant covers are always oval, all square/rectangle-shaped covers are for other purposes. So if you see an accumulation of covers, the oval one is always the one you are looking for as a firefighter. It is VERY rare that oval covers have other purposes, but you will never find a hydrant under any cover which is not oval.

[@robertjarman3703]

In Switzerland, not only would one serve in the military, but so too is it possible to be drafted into the fire brigade. Not always, if they have enough volunteers, but possible. I think it might be law in Germany or some states of it too, and possibly also true of Austria. IIRC of course.

[@DavidLangeYU91]

Yep, the communes in germany can activate a mandantory firebrigade, if the voluntary is about to dissolve or has personal crisis. So any citizien in the town of age 18 to 67 can be drafted into fire service. So far I've never heard of a time where a „Pflichtfeuerwehr“ (mandantory firebrigade) had to be set up.

[@patrickkeller2193]

Löschwassereinspeisung is usually not a substitute for the normal water supply. These systems only work when the Firebrigade pumps in water. Half the time their only purpose is so that we get our hoses on the floor without having to lay hoses up the stairs.

[@helloweener2007]

What to do with such information? Knowing where not to park. StVO §12 (3) Das Parken ist unzulässig 4. über Schachtdeckeln und anderen Verschlüssen, wo durch Zeichen 315 oder eine Parkflächenmarkierung (Anlage 2 Nummer 74) das Parken auf Gehwegen erlaubt ist, (3) Parking is not permitted 4. above manhole covers and other closures where parking on footpaths is permitted by sign 315 or a parking space marking (Annex 2 No. 74),

[@smudolinithegreatdragobear2433]

I am german... And I didn't know any of this stuff.... Thank you sir!

[@Yurinsm]

Thanks for explaining that to me. In Hungary it's exactly the same.. I always thought it to be for gas, but had no idea what the numbers meant.

[@TheRealGurke]

Thank you so much for this video - now i know, where to find a reasonable source of water if i want to fill my pool on a hot summer day 😊

[@meikethomen8812]

Well, you still need the equipment to get the water out of it 😂

[@TigruArdavi]

you would get quickly reported to the police by the neighbourhood.

[@justafriend5361]

Also, don't forget these caps with the red " *F* " on them. This tells the fire crew chief where he can find a key before taking down the door or gate.

[@boahneelassmal]

"Not that these are questions most visitors to Germany will ever need to answer" Well, by law, hydrants (red-white signs) water valves (blue signs) and gas valve access points (yellow signs) must not be obstructed. that means you must not park your car on them or hinder access to them. So it does help knowing how to identify a hydrant's (or other mentioned above) position using the signs and it could avoid you getting towed and / or receive a fine. That being said, in my street, despite the friendly hint in blue spray paint, this is continuously being ignored and that one person parks on water valve access points continuously without any repercussions... So in the end, rew is correct: make of it what you will :'D

[@LisaMiza]

I will definitely be looking out for them when I go to Germany next lol

[@SteffenHausB]

This information is very useful during looking for a parking spot. Because you don`t want to park above an underground hydrant!

[@DasWirdHykl]

Wrong detail: OH is not for "Überflurhydrant", it stands for "Oberflurhydrant" indicating that this is a Hydrant which is over the floor. Not Überflur.

[@rob9514]

Tatsächlich wäre interessant, wo ein Schild mit OH zu finden wäre. Mir ist als Feuerwehrmann ein solches Schild nicht bekannt. Ob Über- oder Unterflurhydrant: Sie haben bei uns alle ein H. Und da kommen wir schon zum Begriff: Im (Nord)deutschen Raum sagt man Überflurhydrant - OH auf dem Schildd wäre also unlogisch. Die Bezeichnung Oberflurhydrant hingegen kenne ich eher aus Österreich. Möglich wäre es jedoch, dass es auch om Süddeutschen Raum Oberflurhydrant heißt, das will ich nicht bestreiten. Und bevor eine Diskussion losgetreten wird: Mir ist es völlig egal ob oberflur oder überflur.

[@Perry_Rhodan.]

In an english youtube channel I learned something about hydrant signs in my own country 😁