Fire Hydrants as Art

Fire hydrants as objets d’art?  If the concept seems bizarre, then you haven’t been to Milford,  Connecticut lately where ninety-nine of the emergency water sources around downtown have been   painted in startling colors and clever designs.  But if you want to witness these fire plugs in inspired and fanciful attire you’d better go soon.  Unfortunately, before long they’ll be repainted lemon yellow.  They may be bright in this customary color specified by local ordinance, but relatively dull compared with their current splendor.

Driving into town on business a few weeks ago, I spied a hydrant decked out in red white and blue.  The barrel was painted white with red vertical stripes.  At first I chalked it up to an isolated case of patriotic enthusiasm.  But then I saw another with a floral design, and yet another multi-chromed and whimsically abstract, and still another arrayed as a bearded fisherman in a yellow slicker.  There seemed a kind of Midas magic in turning ordinary workaday street furniture into pieces of art.  Milford must be full of imaginative, civic minded, and artistic people who care about the place where they live, I thought.

Intrigued, I stopped at the Milford Chamber of Commerce to learn more.  In this grand little building, a former library with uncut rounded stone walls and a brownstone Romanesque arch over the door, I met Nell Moll, a woman at once kind and business-like.  At the suggestion of the former fire chief, the hydrants had been painted by individuals, families, neighbors and civic groups in 2014 to celebrate the town’s 375th anniversary.  The design had to be appropriate for a public space and painted using a kit supplied by a local store.

Originally planning on a quick stop in town, I spent more than two hours wandering around hunting for the decorative fire plugs and taking note of sights and restaurants I’d come back to enjoy another day.  Of course, I passed a couple hydrants dressed as traditional firehouse Dalmatians.  I also saw a couple fierce looking pirates, appropriate to this seaside town where Captain Kidd has long been rumored to have buried treasure.  Though it seems natural from a design perspective, I was surprised to find two hydrants dressed as gumball machines.

Many hydrants were outfitted in patriotic colors, several as soldiers.  There was a fire-breathing creature of some sort, and one that looked like a space alien with the large “steamer” outlet painted like a big eye and a mouthful of teeth below it on the barrel.  The floral designs were particularly delicate and colorful.  One looked as if the flowers were growing around the barrel with the hydrant cap painted sky blue.  A favorite of mine was abstract.  It sported a white barrel and cap fitted with black zebra-like stripes and the outlet covers, flanges and operating nut at the top in pink.

A few hydrants included written messages.  One featured a peace sign on the “steamer” outlet and a dove on the barrel.  The word “Peace” appeared on it along with words of remembrance for a deceased individual.  Another was painted with colorful children’s hand prints and inscribed: “without a sense of caring there will be no sense of community.”

I had no doubt that these imaginatively embellished hydrants demonstrated both caring and community.  They seemed to enliven daily life, linked the logical and creative sides of the brain, and established a singularity of place.  The diversity of adornment set my mind to roaming and whenever I saw a plain yellow fire plug I began seeing alternative visions as to how it might be painted.

Not until talking to Economic and Community Development director Julie Nash did I realize for sure that the artful designs would disappear under new coats of yellow at the wish of the fire department.  It seemed sad to lose such distinctive works of art.  When I called fire headquarters, a gruff voiced man would only say: “some folks like them and some don’t.”

Having served as a volunteer firefighter for twenty-six years, I know there is nothing quite so important as a good flowing hydrant when you need one.  But the majority of the time they remain idle, mostly garnering attention for water company maintenance or fire department drills.  There’s one on my front lawn and I’m glad it’s there.  I mow carefully around it in summer and clear snow in winter.  But I wouldn’t mind if the paint job had a more stylistic flair.