J
ustice Fry recently completed painting 125 fire hydrants within the city limits of Gallatin for his Eagle Scout project. He then presented seven color-coded maps showing the location of the fire hydrants to Mayor Barb Ballew at city hall. The tops of the fire hydrants have been painted red, orange, green, or blue based on each hydrant’s water pressure.
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In an effort to make it easier for firefighters to know what a specific hydrant will supply, the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends that fire departments and water districts follow a set standard of color-coding. Known as NFPA 291, it says fire hydrants using public water supply systems should be painted chrome yellow, and their tops and caps should indicate the available GPM. Below 500GPM should be red, 500-999 GPM should be orange, 1000-1499 GPM should be green, and 1500 GPM or more should be blue.
Justice started in June and finished the last hydrant on July 29, for a total of 117 hours of work. It took about 20 minutes to paint one hydrant, if he was working by himself. He sometimes had help from his parents or members of Gallatin Troop 67.
“I didn’t realize the hydrants came in so many different shapes and sizes,” Justice said. “Some were dated and were fairly old. Some hadn’t been redone in 30 years.”
Most of the newer fire hydrants were located along West Grand. The older ones tended to be on the east side of town. On the east side of town, the hydrants tended to be grouped close together because of the number of businesses, but on the west side, the residential side, they were more scattered.
“Some were in ridiculous places,” said Justice. “There was one in Dockery Park that sat on a hill. I had to paint it from a ditch.”
Justice, 15, is a sophomore at Gallatin High School. He has been in scouts for nine years. He decided to take on the project after seeing how far the fire hydrants had fallen into disrepair.
“I thought it would benefit both the community and the fire district,” he said. “It would help fire fighters know how much pressure each hydrant could produce so they can make quick decisions for the type of fire they are fighting. Before, the hydrants were kind of trashed up and you couldn’t really tell. They had a lot of chipped paint and multi-colored layers of paint.”
Justice was also inspired by his stepfather Barron Gann, a member of the Gallatin Fire Protection District. Justice will turn 16 on Oct. 25 and at that time will join the district as a junior fire fighter. When he turns 18, he plans to become a certified fire fighter.
Justice is the son of Nicole and Barron Gann, both teachers at Gallatin R-5.
“I hope the fire hydrants look good and benefit the community anytime they’re needed,” he said. “Painting all of them took a lot of work and a lot of time. But it shows what you can really do when you put your mind towards something.”