Fire hydrants sport new color scheme; testing is underway
ELKINS — Residents may notice multicolored fire hydrants popping up around the city.
Chief Tom Meader wants everyone to be aware the mixed color schemes aren’t just for show.
The city is in the process of flushing and flow-testing all of its fire hydrants. Flushing is required once a year, but flow-testing takes much longer and is required once every five years so the city can maintain its insurance rating.
Meader said it will take the city a year to flow-test every hydrant.
“Every hydrant will be tested for both static and residual pressure. Static pressure is the water produced by a single hydrant, while residual pressure is the water produced by a single hydrant when the next one in the chain is also open,” Elkins operations manager Bob Pingley said.
Once each hydrant is flow-tested, it is painted with a color scheme that indicates its gallon-per-minute output.
The color schemes are part of a national standard set by the National Fire Protection Association. Every city governed by the NFPA is asked to maintain these standards.
Every hydrant is red, but each top is painted either blue, green or orange. A blue top indicates that hydrant is capable of producing 1,500 or more gallons-per-minute. A green top indicates the hydrant can produce a maximum of 1,500 gallons-per-minute. Finally, an orange top means the hydrant can produced 750 or more gallons per minute.
“What it does is show us what that hydrant is capable of, so if we are going to the scene of a fully involved structure fire and we know we’re going to need a lot of water, we’ll know where they’re flowing and where we need to hook up,” Meader said.
Meader added, “And if you go to another town, they’re going to be the same.”
“It’s a long process. We just want to inform people that it’s not just for looks,” Meader said.