COLOR CODES AND MARKINGS

Body Colors:
Since they are needed upon an immediate basis during
an emergency, fire hydrants should be immediately
recognizable to fire fighting forces as well as to the
general public. The National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) specifies that fire hydrants are to
be painted chrome yellow, however it accepts other
body colors which were already in use at the time the
standard was adopted in the 1970s. Other highly visible
colors which have been used include white, bright red,
chrome silver and lime-yellow.
In jurisdictions where no standard color has been
established, the most important aspect is consistency.
Standard colors should be adopted which, preferably,
are the same throughout the region.
NFPA also recognizes that there are often functional
differences in service provided by municipal and
private hydrant systems. Therefore NFPA specifies that
non-municipal hydrants be painted a color that
distinguishes them from municipal hydrants.
Furthermore, violet has been established as the
international color code for non-potable water.
Therefore hydrants supplied by non-potable sources
should be painted violet (light purple).
FireHydrant.Org recommends the following body
colors for fire hydrants:
Supply

Body Color

Municipal System:

Chrome Yellow

Private System:

Red

Non-Potable System: Violet (Light Purple)

Flow Indicators
The NFPA standard calls for bonnets and caps to be
color-coded to indicate the hydrant's available flow at

20 p.s.i.
Standard color codes are as follows:
NFPA 291, Chap. 3

Class C
Less than 500 GPM
Class B
500-999 GPM
Class A
1000-1499 GPM
Class AA 1500 GPM & above
Additional NFPA Language reads:

Red
Orange
Green
Light Blue

Hydrants rated at less than 20 psi (1.4 bar) should have the rated pressure stenciled in black
on the hydrant top.
In addition to the painted top and nozzle caps, it may be advantageous to stencil the rated
capacity of high volume hydrants on the top.
The classification and marking of hydrants provided for in this chapter anticipate
determination based on individual flow test. Where a group of hydrants can be used at the
time of a fire, some special marking designating group-flow capacity may be desirable.
Fire hydrants that are permanently inoperative or unusable should have barrels, nozzle caps,
tops, and all visible parts painted black.
Fire hydrants that are temporarily inoperative or unusable should be wrapped or otherwise
provided with temporary indication of their condition.