Fire Hydrants Come In All Colors
If you’ve ever wondered why these emergency water reserves are painted different colors, you’re not alone. Here’s why.
I remember as a young girl, living in Victoria, Texas, my house was on the corner of the street at the entrance to our neighborhood. We had a bright red fire hydrant in our front yard. I’d use it to hang my plastic beaded necklaces on. I remember one day distinctly wondering how I could make a necklace that was just as bright red as the hydrant. It simply stood out so beautifully and I wanted to as well.
When we moved to San Antonio and I knew I’d no longer have the constant inspirational red color beaming in my front yard. “Not to worry,” I thought, “there are red fire hydrants everywhere.” Surely my new abode in the Texas Hill Country would provide me the same, bright red beauty.
To my disappointment, not only were there next to no fire hydrants in the rolling hills of my ranch-style neighborhood, but they weren’t red…
I’ll never get over the shock of not having my red necklace holder.
I’ve now been lucky enough to travel the nation and the world. The colors of fire hydrants have ranged from a vibrant turquoise to a mossy green.
It wasn’t until today that I finally asked why.
Thank the Lord in Heaven for the internet. Now we can know random facts that probably won’t ever help us but that will make us sound smart and give us something to talk about at parties. Read the information below to become a genius. (P.s. I’ve heard nerds are “in” now).
The varying colors of fire hydrants are not for visual entertainment or even to blend in with the vibe of its surroundings. Each color actually indicates how much water is in the emergency reserve, specifically, how many gallons per minute (GPM) that the hydrant can produce.
Red: 500 GPM or less, for a 2-story house that’s 50 ft by 50 ft and 20 ft tall.
Orange: 500–1,000 GPM, for a 4-story house that’s 50 ft by 50 ft and 40 ft tall.
Green: 1000–1500 GPM, for a 4-story house that’s 61 by 61 and 40 ft tall.
Blue: 1500 GPM or more, for a 4-story house that’s 70 by 70 feet and 40 ft tall.Above info found at: https://www.businessinsider.com/meaning-of-different-fire-hydrant-colors-2017-11
Great, now we know what these four colored hydrants mean and why it’s important that fire fighters know how much GPM they have to work with. But, I was almost positive I’d seen colors different than these four before.
Back to Google I went.
According to Business Insider, some colors don’t always indicate the GPM, rather they reveal the source of the water supply. Yellow — like the photo shown in the images above- indicates that the fire fighters will be pulling water from the public supply system. Violet means it’s coming from a natural source, like a lake or a pond.
Here’s the kicker, most areas follow this color scheme, but a few outliers think they are unique and choose their own system.
I suppose it really doesn’t matter. As Business Insider says, as long as they are “chosen with your safety in mind.”
In my case, as long as some random kid can get some inspiration from her neighborhood fire hydrants, or at least like them enough to be willing to hang her plastic beaded necklaces on them.
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