The expression is used at Caltech too, I believe. But it appears to have originated at MIT:
https://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/wallyg/4847645087
"Former MIT President Jerome Wiesner (1971-1980) coined this colorful description of the MIT educational experience: “Getting an education at MIT is like taking a drink from a fire hose.”
“A group of (MIT) hackers … turned a fire hydrant into a working drinking fountain in front of the largest lecture hall on campus, 26-100.”
If you click on the link, you see an image of the hack. It’s in Stata Center.