Marietta's newly painted fire hydrants now convey important information immediately to first responders. The colors of the tops of hydrants reflect how many gallons of water per minute can flow through the pipes (red - up to 500 gallons per minute; orange - 500 to 999 gpm; green - 1,000 to 1,499 gpm; and blue - 1,500 or more gpm).
Obviously knowing how much water is available is good information to know for firefighters arriving at the scene of a blaze. The color coding, when done by the end of this summer, will put all 730 of Marietta's fire hydrants in compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards. Aside from that, the information helps firefighters in an emergency.
It's good to see a need filled through coordination of efforts between the fire department, probation department, and Marietta Municipal Court, which assigns community service to the workers, who are painting the hydrants.
Good job all around.
