It varies on its size. According to American-usa.com the weights of a 5 1/4" American-Darling B-84-B-5 (two hoses and one pumper nozzle) with a 6" mechanical joint bottom – including gland, gasket and hardware:
Weights » 5 ¼” American-Darling B-84-B-5 via kwout
Add or deduct 20 pounds for each 6" variance in bury depth.
Add for:
4" Flanged base − 5 lbs.
6" Flanged base − 30 lbs.
Deduct for:
Two hose nozzles only − 25 lbs.
There are over 15,000 fire hydrants in the United States. The fire hydrant is about 182 years old and an essential part of fire extinguishing. Today, we usually take them for granted, but fire hydrants really are a necessity. This quick access to water saves hundreds of lives a year.
The first fire hydrant was invented by George Smith (a fireman) about 1817. He invented the fire hydrant after realizing that his home-city of Manhattan was running out of water to supply everyone. With the invention of the fire hydrant, Manhattan would have more water for drinking while water could be pumped into the city from outside its boundaries so that there would also be enough for fighting fires.
Before George Smith's fire hydrant, many other water systems were used. Instead of water pipes in the 1800's, the city of Boston used logs with three to four inch holes in the center. This carried fresh spring water all across Boston. Another method of transporting water was called the bucket brigade. The bucket brigade was made up of volunteer firefighters.
They would carry a system of buckets full of water from a water source such as a lake to the site of the fire. Some firefighters might also carry a large tank of water on their truck to have quicker access to water.
National Fire Protection Association offers free safety tip sheets on a variety of fire and life safety topics.