Fire Code Requirements

During a fire, every second counts and firefighters need fire hydrants to be ready when they arrive on the scene of a fire. It takes 20 turns with a two - or three-foot wrench to open a fire hydrant. Because of this, Fire Code requires a clear three-foot radius around a fire hydrant.

Some homeowners plant trees or landscape by a fire hydrant to make the area more attractive, but residents need to keep this area clear. If there is a fire, firefighters need to be able to reach and use the hydrant. Plants will be trampled and a tree or a fence too close will be cut down.

In the winter, the Fire Department asks that residents who have a hydrant on their property shovel around it to maintain the three-foot radius. When there is a fire, firefighters don't have time to find and dig out a hydrant.

Paint a Hydrant

In addition to keeping the area around fire hydrants clear, Edina residents can help firefighters and the Public Works Department by volunteering to paint a hydrant. There are 1,800 fire hydrants in the City of Edina. Public Works crews try to paint one-third of them each year.

Public Works will give paint to anyone interested in re-painting a fire hydrant - or two - whether it is in your lawn, down the street or four blocks away. It takes one can of fire-hydrant-red spray paint to paint a hydrant and a resident can arrange to pick up the paint at the Public Works Building, 7450 Metro Boulevard.

How to Volunteer

If your organization/group would like to volunteer to paint a hydrant or dig out hydrants in the winter, call the Edina Public Works Department at 952-826-0376 or the Edina Fire Department at 952-826-0378.