Dogs aren’t the only ones casting a longing eye at fire hydrants these days. Fire departments across the country report that thieves are twisting the brass nuts off the tops and selling them for scrap. Firefighters who responded to an April house fire in Hesperia, Calif., found that the five closest hydrants were useless because thieves had taken the nuts needed to get to the water. They called in special equipment, but by the time they got the fire under control, the house was a total loss.
Brass parts are fetching higher prices at scrap recyclers, though a single hydrant nut is unlikely to be worth more than $10 even in the current inflated market. Firefighters in Columbia, S.C., have also reported stolen hydrant parts.
Hydrants aren’t the only targets. Thieves have stolen brass ornaments from graves in Chicago and West Virginia, chrome-plated brass piping from men’s bathrooms at fast-food restaurants in Pennsylvania and brass plaques from churches in Houston. The Associated Press; AP photo
