The fire hydrants on Wichita State’s campus have recently gotten a makeover — they’ve all been painted. The hydrants’ bodies remain silver, but the caps are now black.

They look different from the rest of the city’s, which are silver with red caps. Many hydrants in other places also follow this color scheme, or are completely red or yellow. And there’s a reason for this.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has a code for fire hydrants that convey information to firefighters. Colors can indicate the rate of water flow and even where the water comes from. Yellow signals that the hydrant connects to a public water supply and a red cap means that water flow is less than 500 gallons per minute. 

But the NFPA can only recommend this code. It is ultimately up to individual jurisdictions whether they follow it.

Eason Bryer, the executive director of Facilities Services, said the hydrants have to be repainted every few years to prevent rust. And while the color change might seem insignificant, he said there’s a lot of collaboration and discussion that went into the new look.

“Some of the fire hydrants you see on campus belong to Wichita State University, and some belong to the city of Wichita and the city fire department,” Bryer said.

This means that WSU’s Fire and Safety Office had to collaborate with the city and its fire department before making the change. 

In the end, black was chosen simply for aesthetic reasons, as it’s one of the university’s colors. 

And, Bryer said, “the yellow would have just faded in the sunlight.”