Around Halloween, my two year old was into all things firefighter related. My wife and I found him an excellent firefighter costume for Halloween and wanted something that matched. Dalmatian dog outfits were a natural extension and easy to find. I wanted something a little more unique, though. My son loved fire hydrants and would always be fascinated when we walked near one. I searched for a fire hydrant costume online but all were either poor quality, expensive, or just silly so I decided to make my own.

I made a trip to JOANN Fabric and picked up various sizes of crafting foam (i.e. expanded polystyrene) and a sheet of polyester film. I rolled the film into a cylinder and secured the seam with rivets and painters tape. I then cut the crafting foam into the shape of ridges that would wrap around the outside of the cylinder and used hot glue to secure them.

I shaped an outlet cap out of crafting foam as well and glued to the outside of the cylinder in the middle. I reinforced the connections with lots of painters tape. Lastly, I cut out arm holes and used painters tape to soften the edges.

I planned on using red spray paint on the outside of the fire hydrant costume. I was going to paint it in the alley outside of my work but continuous fall rain prevented that. I tried to spray paint it inside my lab at work but gave up on that without a way to control overspray. As much as I wanted it to look perfect, it didn’t need to be. I would only be using it for one day. I decided to instead use a brush to apply the paint. This was an excellent solution. The excess paint was easily contained and after only two coats I had achieved my desired color. I finished touching it up and let it hang from the ceiling over the weekend.

I had also been making a hat for the costume that would correspond to the cap and nut on the fire hydrant. I shaped and sanded it from crafters foam and spray painted it red. I then stuck a piece of elastic on so the hat would stay attached to my head.

With the costume complete, I got dressed and went with the family to the annual Halloween on Queen Anne Ave celebration. It got a lot of compliments. Also, almost anyone dressed as a dog felt compelled to pretend to pee on me.  All in all it was a pretty successful costume!