1 Oct 2024

Dry risers are a vital element in fire protection, delivering vast volumes of water directly to each floor enabling instant access for the fire brigade. The person responsible for a building or site is required to maintain all firefighting equipment, including Dry Risers. 

Current Irish standards require a full annual pressure test and a six-monthly visual check for dry risers.

maintenance and repairs

Standards state that inlets, landing valves, drain valves, and landing valve boxes should be inspected every six months and that wet tests be carried out annually when the riser can be checked for leaks. They also state that maintenance and repairs should be carried out by a competent person.

Dry risers can be prone to vandalism because they are situated on each floor, the valves are sometimes in allocated cabinets or they can be left in the open. Therefore, it is important to have them regularly maintained and serviced.

Hydrants – Sites Responsibilities

Fire brigades encourage organizations to have their hydrants properly signed and plated to allow fast identification

The person responsible for a building or site should ensure that the hydrants are capable of delivering firefighting water at the required pressure and flow to fight a fire. They should ensure that the hydrants can be accessed and operated properly.

The responsible person should bear in mind that in addition to good maintenance, fire brigades encourage organizations to have their hydrants properly signed and plated to allow fast and easy identification, particularly at night.

Ground Hydrants

If the user owns, operates, or is responsible for a site that has Ground Hydrants in situ user may find that it is a condition of the insurance policy that the private hydrants are tested and checked regularly.

KSS can help users get on top of their responsibilities and make sure that user’re safe and prepared should the hydrants need to be operated.