- Posted in All University
- Category: Campus News
This brightly colored hydrant brings a touch of spring to the wintry chill thanks especially to its neon green top which assures firefighters that the hydrant meets safety standards.
As the gloom of winter descends, Lincoln University's southern main campus is displaying the distinctive green color of spring. The bright red fire hydrants on Lincoln's 422-acre University now sport "blue" and "neon green" tops.
No, it's not a campus beautification effort but an indication that Lincoln's fire hydrants have met critical safety standards governing fire hydrant flow rates, according to John Thompson, Director, Lincoln's Physical Plant Department, and the Union Fire Company of Oxford (UFCO) in southern Chester County, Pa.
Local firefighters can determine a hydrant's flow rate based on the color of its top. The flow rate is the number of gallons per minute that a fire hydrant delivers. "Blue" indicates anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 gallons per minute. "Neon green" indicates 1,500 gallons or more per minute. Sixteen of Lincoln's 17 hydrants have green tops. The remainder has a blue top.
The colors help firefighters determine how many fire hydrants are needed based on the intensity of a fire. The UFCO, which would be first to respond to a campus fire, completed testing of the campus fire hydrants in October 2001. Safety standards are determined by a National Fire Protection Association formula.