Fire fighting systems

Hydrant and wet riser systems

The red pipework around a building, and the pumps and valves behind it. Survey, hydraulic design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning.

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An open hose reel cabinet with a coiled canvas hose, brass landing valve and a red dry-powder extinguisher beside it. — Raysonho · CC0

Scope: Survey → commissioning → AMC
Practice: IS 3844 · NBC 2016 Pt.4

What it is

The backbone of a building’s fire protection

A hydrant system is the backbone of a building’s fire protection: a pressurised water main running the height and length of the structure, with landing valves on every floor and hose boxes beside them, so a fire can be fought at the floor it starts on rather than from the street. It is what a fire brigade connects to when it arrives.

We size the system against the building rather than a catalogue. Occupancy and hazard classification set the flow and residual pressure required, the riser layout follows the structure and the staircases, and the pump set is selected to hold pressure at the topmost landing valve, not at the pump room gauge. Hydraulic calculations and drawings are prepared for consultant and fire-brigade approval before anything is ordered.

Installation in an occupied tower is planned floor by floor around the residents, which is most of the work on a retrofit. Commissioning is witnessed: pressure and flow tested at the valves, pumps run on auto and on standby, and a signed commissioning record handed over. After that the system needs looking after, and that is what the annual contract covers.

Equipment

What the installation is built from

The equipment list for a typical wet riser and hydrant network. Every item is supplied from authorised distributors against a stamped BOQ.

Landing valves — single and double outletThe take-off point on each floor. Double-outlet valves where a single floor plate needs two hose runs to be covered.

Hose boxes — single and double doorWall or recess mounted beside each landing valve, holding the hose, branch pipe and couplings for that floor.

Reinforced rubber-lined hoseThe delivery hose itself, in standard lengths so a floor can be reached without coupling more than necessary.

Hose reel drumA smaller-bore reel for first-aid fire fighting, usable by an occupant before the brigade arrives.

Branch pipes and nozzlesThe business end of the hose, selected for the throw and pattern the risk needs.

Instantaneous couplings — male and femaleStandard pattern throughout, so brigade equipment connects to the building without adaptors.

Fire brigade inletThe external connection that lets an appliance charge the riser directly, sited where a tender can actually stand.

Stand post monitors — water and foamFor yards, tank farms and plant areas, where a fixed monitor covers ground a hose cannot reach safely.

Pump set and pressure controlMain hydrant pump, jockey pump for pressure holding, and standby, with the control panel and interlocks.

Fireman axe, buckets and fire doorsThe accessories that complete a compliant installation and are the first things an inspection looks for.

Tell us about the project

Send the drawings or the BOQ and we will price it line by line. Most enquiries start with a site visit, because the site decides the system — not the catalogue.

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