Around my neighborhood they would block off the streets and turn ON THE fire hydrants so we could all cool off. Way before Air Conditioners. They would put a hollowed out garbage can…bottom knocked out…over the hydrant and it would raise into a spray. They did this so the little kids wouldn’t be picked up by the water pressure and deposited on their heads. Guess this is my problem, since lots of times I hit the ground when I got too close to the mouth of the hydrant. Those were the good old days. Later on in the years that followed…this was not permitted by the Fire Department, and a permit was needed to turn on the water and then only a trickle would immerge. By that time, the good old days were over.