Monday is the sunniest day of the week over at the Drowsy Monkey's blog because of all the yellow postings to her meme Mellow Yellow Monday.
I happen to collect a lot of photographs of some very strange things. Among them is fire hydrants. I can't tell you why, but, I sure find them interesting. Recently, I noticed that the city street department was out giving all the hydrants in town a fresh coat of paint. That got me to thinking about showing off some of my collection for MYM.
Take a good look at the colors in the following collage. They are all hydrants snapped around my town.
Notice that one in the middle. It can't decide what color it wants to be.
I learned a while back that each of those colors has a different meaning. Since hydrants are mostly used in an emergency it is important for both the firefighters and the general public to understand what those colors mean.
In the United States, the AWWA and NFPA recommend hydrants be colored chrome yellow for rapid identification apart from the bonnet and nozzle caps which should be coded according to their available flow. I was told by a member of our fire department that a hydrant with a red top will supply less than 500 gallons per minute; orange, 500 to 1,000 gpm; green, 1,000 to 1,500 gpm; and blue, more than 1,500 gpm. He also said that hydrants with a purple top means that the water is non-potable, but I have not found one like that in this town.
I have seen fire hydrants in other areas of the state and country that are more artistic than those here. Hydrants painted like people, animals or in the colors of the home spots team to name a few. But, my fire fighting friend tells me that doing so is usually at the cost of reduced practicality. You will find more information by visiting this website.
Mellow Yellow Monday is hosted by Drowsey Monkey. To join in the fun or visit other Mellow Yellow participants just click here.
I have often wondered about the colourings. They used to all be the same, then over the years they started showing some individuality. I've seen the ones painted as little people, but they were in a small town and probably were all the same anyway.
ReplyDeleteIn New Zealand, I think they are all red. I must check.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to your cash jockey job, many many years ago, I was offered a job to count votes. The guy in charge worked in the bank, and he counted so quickly. I was nervous and I couldn't count at all. Later, he told me to stack the voting papers, and he the professional person would count.
Wow, I did not know this. Interesting! Neat shots, too.
ReplyDelete