Fire hydrants are a connection point by which firefighters can access water from the municipal water system to fight a fire. There are three different types of fire hydrants in the Town of Georgina – public hydrants, private hydrants and dry hydrants.
To assist the fire crew in determining public hydrants from private hydrants they are painted different colours. Over the next 2 years, the Town of Georgina will be working to paint the public hydrants to meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 291 “Recommended Practices for Water Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants.”
What the Bonnet and Port colours mean
Under NFPA 291, the barrel of public fire hydrants shall be painted yellow and the barrel of private fire hydrants shall be painted red. The bonnet and ports are to be colour coded to match the corresponding available water flow and steamer ports (large front port), with a Stortz connection, are to be painted black.
- Blue bonnet and ports are class AA and the available flow at 20 psi residual is 1500 GPM or more
- Green bonnet and ports are class A and the available flow at 20 psi residual is 1000-1499 GPM
- Orange bonnet and ports are class B and the available flow at 20 psi residual is 500-999 GPM
- Red bonnet and ports are class C and the available flow at 20 psi residual is below 500 GPM
At this time, Georgina Fire and Rescue Services is not implementing the NFPA 291 colouring on private property. However, we strongly encourage you to adopt this practice and assist our fire crews in identifying hydrants as private hydrants by painting the barrel red and its bonnet and ports with the corresponding colour per the available water flow.
Dry hydrants
Dry hydrants are hydrant connections in rural areas where there is no municipal water system. These hydrants are connected to a tank or an approved natural water source such as a lake, pond or river.
All hydrants, public, private and dry, are to be tested annually. It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure they are maintained and operate as intended.
To obtain additional information, contact Georgina Fire and Rescue Services, Fire Prevention Division at 905 476-5167 or georginafire@georgina.ca.