(A) No person shall remove, tamper with, paint (change the color of the hydrant so that it does not meet the NFPA standards for hydrant marking) or render any fire hydrant inoperative or inaccessible except as may be necessary during emergencies, maintenance, drills, training, prescribed testing or when permitted by the fire official.
(B) No person shall place or keep any fence, growth (trees, flowers, shrubs, plants and the like) stones, signs, trash or other material near any fire hydrant that would prevent the hydrant from being immediately discernible or in any other manner hinder the Fire Department from gaining immediate access to a fire hydrant. A clear space of not less than three feet shall be provided on all sides of a fire hydrant.
(C) No person shall park a vehicle, boat, trailer or any other item or permit it to stand, whether attended or unattended, within 15 feet in either direction of a fire hydrant.
(D) Hydrants to be used as fire protection shall have as a minimum 2 two and one-half-inch outlets and 1 four and one-half-inch outlet. This would allow the minimum requirements of the Insurance Service Office. Pipe systems should be arranged in loops whenever possible. The City Public Works Department will be in charge of making the decision on the minimum water supply piping size to ensure the city has the necessary water pressure needed to meet the water flow requirements at the hydrant. The size of the pipe is recommended to be as follows: no pipe less than six inches in diameter is to be used as a main water supply line; no less than six-inch pipe to be used for two outlet hydrants or to supply the hydrant from the main; eight-inch or larger pipe to be used if possible it is a dead-end main or if more than one hydrant is to be supplied; 12-inch or larger pipe to be used for the primary main as much as possible. Hydrants should be set plumb with the centerline of their outlets about 18 inches above the ground. When hydrants are installed before grading is complete, the final grade line and accessibility should be considered.
(E) Although the installation of fire hydrants is usually performed by Water Department personnel, the Water Department shall check with the Fire Marshal’s office for the location, spacing and distribution of the fire hydrant. This will ensure that the city is meeting the NFPA standards and the Insurance Service Office requirements. By meeting these two requirements, the city will be providing the most adequate water supply for fire protection for the citizens of the city who live and work in that area. The maximum distance between hydrants shall not exceed 1,000 feet. In closely built areas, subdivisions, townhouses, commercial/industrial with lot frontage 100 feet or less than 500 feet or less will be the maximum distant between hydrants. Hydrants should be located as close to the street and intersections as possible. Hydrants that must be located in areas subject to heavy traffic need protection against damage from collision. (Hydrants must be inspected and approved prior to final plot approval.)
(F) Hydrant testing and maintenance. Due to requirements by the insurance rating services and other requirements by the insurance industry, the hydrants shall be serviced a minimum of once a year. The Water Department and/or Fire Department will be overseeing this section. The following is a list of guidelines to go by to perform those requirements:
(1) Clean around hydrant (this would include removing weeds and the like);
(2) Remove small caps and check gaskets in caps (rotate or replace as necessary);
(3) Open hydrant slowly and flush hydrant with caps off;
(4) Close hydrant slowly (do not over-tighten the hydrant when closing);
(5) Brush or clean hydrant cap threads as needed and lubricate the cap threads;
(6) Oil hydrant (lubricant used to oil hydrant and cap threads will be a food grade grease);
(7) Replace caps and energize (open slowly) hydrant. Completely open hydrant slowly and wait ten to 15 seconds before closing hydrant;
(8) Check for any leaks;
(9) Close hydrant slowly;
(10) Fill out proper paperwork (hydrant maintenance sheet). Make any notes of work that needs to be done; and
(11) Proceed to next hydrant.
(G) Fire flow testing and marking of hydrants.
(1) Fire flow tests are conducted on water distribution systems to determine the rate of flow available at various locations for fire fighting purposes.
(2) Additional benefit derived from fire flow tests is the indication of possible deficiencies (such as tuberculation of piping or closed valves or both), which can be corrected to ensure adequate fire flows as needed.
(3) All hydrants in each fire district shall be flow tested. All equipment used and the testing procedure need to be done by NFPA Standards.
(H) Marking of hydrants. Once all flow tests have been completed and the flows for each hydrant have been determined, then each hydrant will need to be marked according to the NFPA Standards.
(I) Public hydrants.
(1) All barrels are to be chrome yellow except in cases where another color has already been adopted. The tops and nozzle caps should be painted with the following capacity - indicating color scheme to provide simplicity and consistency with colors used in signal work for safety, danger and intermediate condition:
Class AA (1,500 gpm or greater) | Light blue |
Class A (1,000 gpm to 1,499 gpm) | Green |
Class B (500 gpm to 999 gpm) | Orange |
Class C (less than 500 gpm) | Red |
(2) For rapid identification at night, the top of the hydrant and the caps shall be marked with a reflective-type material.
(J) Private hydrants. Marking on all private hydrants (yard hydrants) within private enclosures shall be painted solid red with caps colored coded as required. When private hydrants are located on public streets, they shall be painted solid red with caps colored coded as required to distinguish them from public hydrants. See reference manual for private hydrant marking procedures.
(Ord. O-02-08, passed 6-5-2008) Penalty, see § 151.999
Cross-reference:
Flow test procedures for city fire hydrants, see Ch. 151, Appendix B, Attachment D
Public fire hydrant marking guidelines, see Ch. 151, Appendix B, Attachment E