FIRE HYDRANT COLORS PROFESSIONAL

FIRE HYDRANT COLORS PROFESSIONAL

She was reluctant to give the name of the person who told her about the hydrant, cautious of privacy under Right-to-Know laws.Īs for the color scheme, she took direction from professional sources, but agreed there was no hard and fast rule as to what they should be. She did not know how many others were out of compliance. The colors provide a snapshot.of how it will perform once fire hoses are connected.”Īrmstrong said the Houpts are the only people to be asked to repaint their hydrant in recent years. Our local firefighters (then) can.note the pressure range. It stated, “Fire companies look for the closest available hydrant and pressures found at that particular hydrant. The letter asked that they return it to its primary colors. But it was not clearly visible for fire companies. Greencastle Right-to-Know officer Ericka Faight said she would turn down his request to find out, because the complaint was only verbal, not written.Īrmstrong said her interpretation of the color of the Houpt fire hydrant was brown and beige, which blended in very nicely with their stone landscaping. If the complainer, allegedly a member of the Rescue Hose Company, had come to his door with the suggestion to repaint, he would have.Īnd he wanted to know who the person was. He also did not like the procedure of notification. 'But if the water authority is going to enforce me, why not everyone else?' 'We painted it fire-engine red,' said Brian. After clarifying what shade of green (and told any would be fine), Tammy took care of the task. They didn't want anyone tromping through their yard. The couple turned down GAFCWA's offer to send a crew out to paint the hydrant. He and his wife were even more surprised when they discovered the Borough of Waynesboro held an annual contest in which people painted the downtown hydrants with all sorts of designs. 'Why am I being singled out?' he wondered. They were colorful - red, burgundy, maroon, with green, tan, red and even orange caps. Why was it a problem now?Īnd he started to notice all of those other hydrants around the borough and Antrim Township. Houpt would have understood someone getting raised eyebrows if the colors were new, but he had painted the offending structure seven years ago. With the evidence of an accompanying photo, she dispatched the notification letter, which also went to the Greencastle public works superintendent, the fire chief and the police chief. Someone had contacted the borough and verbally complained about the hydrant, he was told by borough- and GAFCWA manager Susan Armstrong. A photograph of their home with the violating hydrant stationed in the creatively landscaped front yard was included.īrian Houpt followed up on the matter. They had two weeks, said the certified letter from GAFCWA, to paint the hydrant red and green. The top and caps were tan like their siding. It was burgundy, to match the shutters of Brian and Tammy Houpt's Williamsport Pike home. One couple was notified in mid July that the hydrant on their property was the wrong color. They are the source of water to fight fires, but now are also a source of surprise in GAFCWA treatment of a customer. Either way, fire hydrants may stick out like a sore thumb but those bright colors are chosen with your safety in mind.Seemingly invisible because most people aren't looking for them, the fire hydrants belonging to Greencastle Area Franklin County Water Authority (GAFCWA) are actually all over the place, and in many colors. While most areas follow this color scheme, some choose to make up their own system. Violet means the water comes from a lake or pond. Yellow indicates that the water comes from a public supply system. Green: 1000-1500 GPM, for a 4-story house that's 61 by 61 and 40 ft tall.īlue: 1500 GPM or more, for a 4-story house that's 70 by 70 feet and 40 ft tall. Orange: 500-1,000 GPM, for a 4-story house that's 50 ft by 50 ft and 40 ft tall. Red: 500 GPM or less, for a 2-story house that's 50 ft by 50 ft and 20 ft tall. So, if you have a two-story house that is 20 feet tall, 50 feet long, and 50 feet wide, then you're going to need (/100=500) 500 GPM. To calculate the GPM necessary for the size of a fire, you can take the volume of the fire and divide it by 100.

Here are the 4 most popular colors, and the biggest fires they can extinguish. Each color represents a different GPM or Gallons Per Minute. What do fire hydrant colors mean? Certain colors are meant for different types of fires. These colors have an important meaning that could just save your life one day. Red, yellow, violet- fire hydrants come in many different colors. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

Fire hydrant colors