Making Sure Fire Hydrants Are Ready For Firefighters

June 11, 2007 California - Bill Catlett could be called a hydrant doctor. Catlett's job is to nurse Stockton's sick fire hydrants back to health and to proclaim dead those that cannot be revived. His patient load is heavy: Catlett is responsible for the well-being of about 5,000 hydrants in Stockton and in contracted county areas that extend well outside the city's borders. "I'm backlogged every day," said the senior hydrant worker, who has worked in Stockton Fire Department's hydrant division since ...