Skip to main content

Not all fire hydrants are red — here's what each different color means

Red, yellow, violet— fire hydrants come in many different colors. But it's not for decoration. These colors have an important meaning that could just save your life one day. Following is a transcript of the video.

What do fire hydrant colors mean? Certain colors are meant for different types of fires. Each color represents a different GPM or Gallons Per Minute. Higher GPMs are meant for larger fires.

Here are the 4 most popular colors, and the biggest fires they can extinguish. To calculate the GPM necessary for the size of a fire, you can take the volume of the fire and divide it by 100. So, if you have a two-story house that is 20 feet tall, 50 feet long, and 50 feet wide, then you're going to need ([20*50*50]/100=500) 500 GPM. 

Red: 500 GPM or less, for a 2-story house that's 50 ft by 50 ft and 20 ft tall.
Orange: 500-1,000 GPM, for a 4-story house that's 50 ft by 50 ft and 40 ft tall.
Green: 1000-1500 GPM, for a 4-story house that's 61 by 61 and 40 ft tall.
Blue: 1500 GPM or more, for a 4-story house that's 70 by 70 feet and 40 ft tall.

Some colors don't always refer to GPM. Yellow indicates that the water comes from a public supply system. Violet means the water comes from a lake or pond. While most areas follow this color scheme, some choose to make up their own system. Either way, fire hydrants may stick out like a sore thumb but those bright colors are chosen with your safety in mind.

Join the conversation about this story »



from Tech Insider http://ift.tt/2AqBn9X
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Instagram accidentally reinstated Pornhub’s banned account

After years of on-and-off temporary suspensions, Instagram permanently banned Pornhub’s account in September. Then, for a short period of time this weekend, the account was reinstated. By Tuesday, it was permanently banned again. “This was done in error,” an Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch. “As we’ve said previously, we permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies.” Instagram’s content guidelines prohibit  nudity and sexual solicitation . A Pornhub spokesperson told TechCrunch, though, that they believe the adult streaming platform’s account did not violate any guidelines. Instagram has not commented on the exact reasoning for the ban, or which policies the account violated. It’s worrying from a moderation perspective if a permanently banned Instagram account can accidentally get switched back on. Pornhub told TechCrunch that its account even received a notice from Instagram, stating that its ban had been a mistake (that message itse...

MVP versus EVP: Is it time to introduce ethics into the agile startup model?

Anand Rao Contributor Share on Twitter Anand Rao is global head of AI at PwC . The rocket ship trajectory of a startup is well known: Get an idea, build a team and slap together a minimum viable product (MVP) that you can get in front of users. However, today’s startups need to reconsider the MVP model as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) become ubiquitous in tech products and the market grows increasingly conscious of the ethical implications of AI augmenting or replacing humans in the decision-making process. An MVP allows you to collect critical feedback from your target market that then informs the minimum development required to launch a product — creating a powerful feedback loop that drives today’s customer-led business. This lean, agile model has been extremely successful over the past two decades — launching thousands of successful startups, some of which have grown into billion-dollar companies. However, building high-performing product...

Watch Aidy Bryant *completely* lose it as 'SNL' roasts political pundits

On Saturday Night Live , there are breaks and then there's whatever happened here. The Season 45 premiere featured a sketch that was meant to expose the empty noisemaking of political punditry on TV. But part of the joke involved a series of quick costume changes, and some weirdness during one of those switches led to a complete and total breakdown. Aidy Bryant, the segment's host, couldn't take it. She manages to keep it together until what appears to be an accidental wide shot exposes some of the magic as we see a woman who's probably a member of the SNL wardrobe crew fiddling with Aidy's costume. Read more... More about Saturday Night Live , Aidy Bryant , Entertainment , and Movies Tv Shows from Mashable https://ift.tt/2okrAOq via IFTTT