Medford Modernizes Fire Hydrants for Faster Emergency Response

MEDFORD, Ore. (Jan. 28, 2026) — Fire hydrants across Medford are getting a new look as part of an effort city officials say will improve firefighter safety and response times during emergencies.

The Medford Water Commission began repainting hydrants this fall with reflective silver bodies and color-coded tops, a change designed to make hydrants easier to see at night and in low-visibility conditions. The work is being completed gradually as part of routine maintenance.

The colored tops, known as bonnets, will indicate the amount of water flow available from each hydrant, allowing firefighters to quickly assess which hydrants can best support firefighting operations. The system follows the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 291 standard for hydrant marking and flow testing.

Under that standard, hydrants capable of flowing 1,500 gallons per minute or more are marked with light blue bonnets, while green indicates 1,000 to 1,499 gallons per minute, orange signals 500 to 999 gallons per minute, and red identifies hydrants with less than 500 gallons per minute.

City officials say the visual system reduces the need for firefighters to rely on digital maps or pre-incident planning documents during emergencies, allowing crews to make faster decisions on the scene.

NFPA 291 — titled Recommended Practice for Fire Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants — provides voluntary consensus guidelines for testing the water-flow capability of hydrants and marking them for rapid identification. While not a legally enforceable regulation in most jurisdictions, NFPA 291’s color-coding scheme has been widely adopted because it creates a common visual language for hydrant capacity that firefighters can rely on nationwide. 

Such standardized markings not only improve operational efficiency but also enhance safety by helping fire crews better anticipate water availability before hooking up hoses at a scene. 

The repainting project will continue over the next several years as hydrants are cycled through routine inspection and maintenance schedules.