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Show Paint Now Grades Fire Hydrant for Pressure FALL RIVER, MASS. The useful but usually dingy fire hydrant is a thing of beauty in Fall River now. The prettiness of the "plugs," however, how-ever, is just another aid to firemen. Formerly the hydrants, were chrome yellow with black tops. Now they are painted aluminum, with green, orange, red or black spigots. John W. Moran, superintendent of the waterworks, suggested painting the hydrants so firemen would know how much water pressure they could expect. Green, he says, tells the fire department de-partment to "shoot the works, there's plenty of water." It indicates indi-cates that the hydrant is attached to 16, 20, 24 or 36 inch mains. Orange means only 10 or 12 inch .mains are beneath the street and red calls for caution, as water is supplied by only six or eight inch mains. Black indicates a dead end in the pipe, where the water supply is lowest. . On reaching a threatening fire, according to Moran, firemen can determine de-termine whether it would be more advisable to pump from the hydrant nearest the blaze or go to the one around the corner. |