For the last several years the Phillipsburg Middle School Students have completed community service projects in remembrance of 9-11. This year the City of Phillipsburg is partnering with the Students to repaint all of the fire hydrants in the community. On September 8th, the Phillipsburg Middle School Students will be painting the caps and bonnets of each fire hydrant with a color that specifies the hydrant pressure. Over the last three years City Staff have been testing the flow pressures of each fire hydrant in Phillipsburg. This is a part of the City’s maintenance program to insure the hydrants work properly. Prior to the Student's painting project, the City Staff will power wash each hydrant and paint the barrel section yellow.
This project will enhance the overall appearance of our community and assist the Fire Department identify fire hydrants which have suitable pressure to pump from during an emergency. Having the fire hydrants color coded will also help to improve the ISO rating of the community. The better the ISO rating, the lower the cost of fire insurance for the community. The colors painted on the caps and bonnets represent the gallons per minute (GPM) flow from the fire hydrant. Red caps are for 500 GPM or less. Orange caps are for 501-999 GPM. Green caps are for 1,000-1,499 GPM. Light Blue is for 1500 GPM and above. Ninety-eight percent of the hydrants in Phillipsburg fall within the red and orange category.
Thank you to the USD #325 Middle School Students and Teachers for their work on this project as well as the City Staff.