Fire hydrants color coded for emergencies
During a roaring blaze, one of the last things firefighters want is to be left without enough water to stifle flames and save lives.
Soon, they’ll know how much water they have available the moment their engines arrive for an emergency.
DeKalb County is painting the tops of 23,000 fire hydrants five different colors to signal water capacity levels.
They’ll hook hoses to gold hydrants, which can pump at least 2,000 gallons per minute, to battle fires in hotels and office parks. Red hydrants, which connect to water lines producing up to 500 gallons per minute, can help them handle small house fires.
“It’s another tool so we know what to come prepared with, what equipment to bring and how much water we’re going to be working with,” said Capt. Eric Jackson of the DeKalb Fire Rescue Department.
More than 2,000 hydrants have already been repainted, and the rest will be color-coded in the coming weeks.
The National Fire Protection Agency recommends that fire departments and water districts use a standard hydrant coloring system.
When they’re repainted, all hydrants will have a silver base with tops colored red, orange, green, blue and gold.
| Color | Gallons per minute |
| Red | Less than 499 |
| Orange | 500-999 |
| Green | 1000-14999 |
| Blue | 1500-1999 |
| Gold | More than 2000 |
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
