People are only just realising what the H on lampposts mean – and it's important – The Mirror
People have just discovered what the yellow ‘H’ sign often found on lampposts really means and it’s leaving them baffled – as some joke it looks like a ‘helicopter pad’
Have you ever seen those small yellow square signs with a black 'H' printed in the middle and wondered what they're for? They can often be found on lampposts but may also be found on other roadside structures such as bollards, and despite them being a common site across the country, many people have no idea what they're for – or what they mean.
And if your interest is now piqued, then the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have got the answers you need, as they explained exactly what the strange signs mean in a viral video. While some joked they thought the signs were tiny "helicopter pads", it turns out they actually have a much more important purpose.
The signs actually have an 'H' printed on them for "hydrant", and they denote where fire hydrants are located so that firefighters can quickly access a water supply if there's a fire in the area. They are particularly useful if the hydrant cover is obscured in some way.
In a video posted to their @southyorkshirefire account on TikTok, they wrote: "POV: You've walked past these small yellow signs your whole life. But it was today that you realised, finally, after all these years, they are there to tell firefighters where the hydrants are."
And in another video, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service also explained what the numbers on the yellow signs mean, as they said the top number denotes the width of the hydrant in millimetres, while the number on the bottom shows the distance of the cover from the sign in metres.
Commenters on the video were blown away, as many said they were only just discovering the meaning behind the signs. "I never knew. Every day is a school day thank you," one person wrote in the comments, as another said: "Well, I learnt something new today. Thank you!," and a third added: "I've never even seen one of these signs never mind know what it means."
But there were some jokers in the comments who claimed they had always assumed the signs were supposed to be tiny helicopter landing pads. Someone posted: "I used to think it was H for helicopter landing," and someone else agreed, writing: "I thought it was a helicopter landing pad."
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