Saw this going to a friend’s house- they bagged the fire hydrants….one thought was snow; but this is the first year apparently. And snow has been a mild issue this year compared to most.
Just FYI, the striped pole attached to the hydrant is so it can be found under snow.
Why wouldn’t they make the whole thing red?
I believe there’s some logic in alternating patterns being more attention-grabbing to our brains, which is why you usually see stripes on anything you need to be cautious around.
The pole isn’t for locating the hydrant, per se, as much as it is for avoiding the hydrant. It’s so you don’t drive into it if it’s covered in snow.
Related question. Why are north American hydrants all of the “stick up out of the ground as a permanent fixture” type, rather than the more discreet and less likely to be damaged “pipe fitting concealed beneath a removable plate” type?
Possibly out of service. There are dedicated high visibility bags for this purpose but if whoever did this didn’t have one, this looks like a stopgap to help make it more obvious.