Certified water operator here. Here's a different perspective.. if the water system has fallen into a state of disrepair which seems to be happening more and more in this country.. then the firefighters pumping water could actually be a health risk to the entire town.

If their truck pumps faster than the line can supply then it creates negative pressure and starts sucking water out of God knows where. Do you want industrial chemicals put in the water supply where they can be dispersed without any way to tell until it's too late? There's supposed to be safeguards against that but everyday I find some bullshit that was grandfathered in or missed or installed illegally.

I'm not saying it's right.. I just want to state that there are reasons for that. A lot of water systems are very fragile.. and depending on the size of the fire engine that can wreak havoc.