West End Fire and Rescue had just completed a rigorous standards and inspection program when members thought about repainting fire hydrants in the department’s district.
The plan was to paint the hydrants and mark them for their water flow capacities. Orange would be for hydrants flowing 500-900 gallons of water per minute. Green would be for those flowing 1,000-1499 gallons per minute.
Assistant Chief Mike Cole asked about doing something fun for the kids as they prepared to return to school.
The idea was to paint the hydrants in front of West End Elementary and West Pine Elementary schools in time for the first day of classes. After a little research and discussion, the decision was made to paint the hydrants as “Stuart the Minion.”
“This past weekend, two hydrants were transformed from red fire hydrants to our version of Stuart,” said WEFR Fire Chief Erik Stromberg. “Our hope is that the children attending, visiting or driving by West End and West Pine Elementary enjoy their new friend.
“Fire Prevention week is just around the corner and this it is just another way that we can engage the children in our area,” Stromberg said.