Fire hydrants in the Town of Bancroft are getting a fresh coat of paint.
The town’s Fire Chief Pat Hoover explains hydrants need to be re-painted every five years to make sure they are visible. “The last time this was done (in Bancroft) was in 2014,” he says.
The department’s summer student Micah Aldom has been going around the town for the past month painting the 160 hydrants scattered throughout.
Hoover says there are “minor costs” with this for things like paint, grinders and paying the summer student’s wages.
The Fire Chief explains the process includes removing the faded decals and reflective tape. Any rust spots are ground off as well. After the prep work is done, the hydrants are painted once in yellow, left overnight to cure, then painted again after that. Hoover says they will come back at the end of the summer to put the reflective material and lettering on the hydrants for identification.
The last time the hydrants were painted, Hoover says they changed the colour from red to yellow. He says that colour is more “vibrant” and visible.
“Everything west of the river is done,” Hoover says. “We’re working our way up hastings street north and anything off of it”