Why does it take 3 or 4 firefighters to maintain a hydrant?
Firefighters do everything in groups of 3 or 4 in order to be able to respond to emergencies. For example, if we have a structure fire we need 2 firefighters to operate the nozzle, maneuver the hose and enter the building and one to run the pump. If we split personnel up the two firefighters on the scene would have to wait for the one doing hydrant maintenance to show up before they could begin emergency operations. Why are some hydrant barrels yellow, and some red? The yellow hydrants indicate public hydrants that are the responsibility of the local water districts (Santa Cruz City Water Department, Soquel Creek Water District). The yellow hydrants we can use for training or emergency operations with out restriction. Red hydrants are owned by private citizens and corporations. We can only use these hydrants with owner permission or under emergency conditions. What do the different color caps on the fire hydrant indicate? The cap colors indicate to the responding fire companies how muc
