Can You Open New York Fire Hydrants to Cool Down on Hot Days?

It is hot. Hottest July on record and it looks like August is going to be even hotter. How can a person get any relief from these hot days? I have been known to go to the book store, to take a walk around the now empty shopping mall and even go see a movie at the discount theater during the day, just to try to keep cool. I figure going to places that have to keep the air conditioning on, helps keep me cool and my electric bill not so crazy.

Have you seen people opening up the fire hydrants to use as a urban sprinkler? Is this legal to do so? And if so, how can you actually open it to get water out of it, without knowing a fire fighter?

Can you legally open a fire hydrant in New York State to cool off during heat waves?

Can you do it legally? Yes, and no. First you have to live in an area that actually has fire hydrants. Then you need to ask your local fire department, there maybe forms to fill out, and you will need to wait for the approval. No approval, no dice. With approval, the fire department will be responsible for opening and closing the fire hydrant so you can cool down. Sadly, I do not have the official statistic of how many requests are approved in relation to how many requests are made. 

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What has to be done to the fire hydrant if it is opened for you and the neighborhood to keep cool?

The force with which the water blasts out of one of those fire hydrants is intense, because the water is needed to do its job, fight fires. If you get approval to have your hydrant opened, your friendly neighborhood fire fighter will also put a flow regulator on it, so no one gets hurt by the intense water pressure that it pumping out of them. Keep cool.T