Fire Hydrant Guidelines

Fire Hydrant Painting

Every single minute counts during a house fire. Difficulty in locating fire hydrants near your home during a fire emergency may retard arrival at the scene and cause potentially disastrous results. The Mount Pleasant Fire Department is strongly urging residents to refrain from painting or landscaping fire hydrants - we may miss them during an actual emergency!


Some hydrants look fine from the left, but you would never see the hydrant from the right. By keeping your hydrant free and clear of debris, you really help out your Fire Department. Painting your hydrant a different color is not allowed in the Town of Mount Pleasant because each color signifies the amount of water (GPM) that the hydrant will flow under normal operating conditions. The four colors of hydrants and their rated GPM are as follows.


Fire Hydrant Color
Gallons per Minute
Red0 to 499 gallons per minute
Orange500 to 999 gallons per minute
Green1,000 to 1,499 gallons per minute
Light Blue1,500 and more gallons per minute


Attention Mount Pleasant Residents

The Mount Pleasant Fire Department is asking for your help! If you know of a hydrant that:

  • Has broken chains from the hydrant to the caps
  • Has the main discharge less than 15 inches from the ground
  • Has plants, trees, and shrubs planted in close proximity
  • Is covered by vegetation and unable to be seen
  • Is in need of a coat of paint
  • Is knocked over
  • Is leaking
  • Is missing the blue hydrant marker
  • Is missing discharge caps