Paradise fire hydrant painted like dalmatian covered up, weeks after complaint
A month after town raised issue, officials repainted hydrant Tuesday afternoon
A fire hydrant painted to look like a dalmatian has finally been covered up with its original colours.
Deanne McLennon had painted a fire hydrant near her Paradise, N.L., home a month ago to look like a dog, saying the old hydrant was ugly, with rust stains and peeling paint.
But the Town of Paradise had an official knock on her door that same day, telling her she wasn't allowed to paint over the hydrant.
McLennon was told the hydrant needed to be restored to its original colours, but she was in no hurry to do it.
"I went on vacation and when I came back I thought it would be painted by the town but nothing has been done," McLennon told CBC News early Tuesday.
"[There's been] no letter to me [or] anything to tell me to do it."
In an email to CBC on Tuesday, the town said the hydrant would be repainted in its proper colour this week. Before the end of the day, the job was done.
Hydrant colours crucial to firefighters
For a month following the town's request to cover up the dog painting, nothing happened. McLennon said she'd been waiting for the town to tell her exactly what to do, including the right colour to use.
Different colour hydrants let firefighters know the water volume in each one — critical information when firefighters arrive at a blaze.
McLennon said she understands it's a safety issue, and insists she wasn't looking for a fight with the town.
She would have repainted the cap of the hydrant if given proper instruction, she said, but doesn't see why she can't keep her design on the barrel of the hydrant.
In such cases, it is the resident's responsibility to repaint the hydrant, the town said, but if it is not completed in a reasonable timeframe, the town will do it for them.
According to the department of Municipal Affairs, if the paint was just on the barrel of the hydrant, it likely would not have been an issue.