When Henry Roth wrote his novel "Call it Sleep" in 1934, he incorporated the New York City nickname for a fire hydrant, the "Johnny Pump." Though not as commonly used today, some of New York City's old timers still use the slang term.

1 Early Days of Firefighting Between 1648 and 1865, the all-volunteer New York City firefighters went from bucket brigades to hand-pulling water wagons and hook-and-ladder trunks. Beginning in 1865, horse-drawn firefighting equipment came into play. These were larger, steam-pumped fire wagons that delivered more pressure than the hand-pumped variety. The first fire hydrant went into place in 1808. By 1817, there was a network of iron, lower-pressure fire hydrants throughout the growing city.