Fire Departments to Test Hydrants 

The Greensboro Fire Department will begin their semi-annual fire hydrant tests on April 1 and will continue this operation throughout the month of April. All 10,000 City hydrants will be tested to ensure that they are operable and able to produce the required water pressure when needed.

City fire companies will carry out the operation, which takes approximately two weeks to complete. Because the testing must be done during normal operating hours, it will be impossible to know in advance just where or when the testing will take place in any specific area.Opening hydrants can sometimes cause a temporary discoloration of water in nearby homes. The discoloration is not harmful in any way and can be cleared up by running the water for a few minutes.

This kind of testing not only ensures the protection of Greensboro's citizens, it also is an evaluation indicator used by the Insurance Services Office, which rates cities according to the fire protection they offer. The ISO rating resulted in the elevation of the Greensboro Fire Department in February 1992 to a Class I protection rating, the best rating possible. Greensboro has maintained this top rating since that time.