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The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has a standard for the color coding of fire hydrants based on tested water flow. Red is for 250 GPM or less, Yellow 251-500 GPM, Green 501-750 GPM and Blue 750 GPM+
One should definitely check with the local fire authority before painting a hydrant.
Shoot, I certainly wouldn't be upset by having a working fire hydrant on my property. I actually bought my late H a fire hydrant (on eBay - the shipping was nutz!) for his 65th birthday. He installed it right in the middle of the front lawn 'cause he wanted to show it off!
They recently painted the fire hydrant across from my house, and I thought, "how pretty." I wouldn't be too vexed about that, unless I needed the parking badly. It's a nice safety feature.
I'll take your hydrant on my front lawn, right in front of the house! Our house is 700 feet from the road and then it's another 400 feet or so and across a road to the nearest hydrant. I worry about the FD being able to easily get water up here.
A nearby town has no town water and no hydrants, they rely tanker trucks, scary.
If you are in the north, be sure to shovel the hydrant out after each storm. Sometimes I have to walk all the way down there with my shovel because the folks in the houses very close to the hydrant don't always do it and it takes days and days for the FD or public works to get to every hydrant in town.
I would not consider a hydrant in front of the house a bad thing if I were house shopping, but rather a point in that house's favor.
The city normally owns the land between the sidewalk and curb. You get to maintain and mow it, they get to put water meters and hydrants anywhere they want in those areas.
Pull out your survey and see if you own that land. Even if you do there will be an easement.
So what. Unless there is only street parking in your neighborhood you won't be able to park in front of your home, otherwise when you go to sell use it as a positive and tell people if there is ever a fire the hydrant is right in front of the home.
The last home I owned was in a neighborhood with fire hydrants throughout. Only the joke was on the homeowners and the insurers........the hydrants were not hooked up to anything. The builders put them in with the idea of the community when finished would convert to county water. Well, a recession hit and all good plans went down the drain and it became a community Well and Sewer system. Fortunately, the volunteer (and paid) firefighters were well aware of the situation, fortunately, we were on a major river inlet and the county had numerous pumper trucks. One February morning, this proved to be challenging as fire spread through the neighborhood.
I wouldn't be happy either with a hydrant dead center where there was once none. Do double-check easements. Do double-check the requirements to move a hydrant. Do double-check if the necessary permissions were granted. I'v seen municipality workers make unilateral decisions without consulting anyone, both in the homeowner's favor and not in their favor. If in doubt, get a survey. One thing is for certain, if you don't speak up, ain't nothing going to happen.
One thing to consider is that if it was a "Mistake" and it should have gone back to where it was, then they may indeed move it, if it was a "Contractor" mistake. Not may Cities run their own water mains, and its usually contracted out. The Contractor may have put it there because it saves them money for their mistake. The City could force him to fix the mistake and put it back where it was. Don't just roll over and play dead, to save them money. If nothing can be done, you have not lost a thing.
The last home I owned was in a neighborhood with fire hydrants throughout. Only the joke was on the homeowners and the insurers........the hydrants were not hooked up to anything. The builders put them in with the idea of the community when finished would convert to county water. Well, a recession hit and all good plans went down the drain and it became a community Well and Sewer system. Fortunately, the volunteer (and paid) firefighters were well aware of the situation, fortunately, we were on a major river inlet and the county had numerous pumper trucks. One February morning, this proved to be challenging as fire spread through the neighborhood.
I wouldn't be happy either with a hydrant dead center where there was once none. Do double-check easements. Do double-check the requirements to move a hydrant. Do double-check if the necessary permissions were granted. I'v seen municipality workers make unilateral decisions without consulting anyone, both in the homeowner's favor and not in their favor. If in doubt, get a survey. One thing is for certain, if you don't speak up, ain't nothing going to happen.
Good post. Never roll over and play dead. That's how rights and freedoms are lost.
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