A Safety Device Gone Wrong

摘要

Picture 1 shows a fire hydrant in a town in the northern U.S. that gets a lot of snow in the winter. The vertical steel rod fastened to the left side of the hydrant is intended to mark the location of the hydrant, as shown in Picture 2. A flag is installed at the top of the rod as a safety device to enable firefighters to find the hydrant if it is covered with snow. The flag also marks the location of the hydrant so it is less likely to be damaged by snow-removal equipment, and so that people do not park vehicles where they will block access to the hydrant.