Annual Testing & Inspections
Fire Hydrant Testing
Fire Hydrant Testing
When fire hydrants are working properly, they provide fire brigades with an effective, continuous supply of water from the mains. Although fire hydrants seem simple enough to be a fireman’s best friend – fire hydrant testing is a must for businesses.
We cover commercial and private customers across Manchester, Rochdale, the North West and across the UK – call our team to discuss your reequipments and book a fire hydrant test and inspection.
Fire hydrant testing should be carried out annually. It is important to make sure fire hydrants are safe and at optimum performance levels before putting them into use. Failure to do so could lead firefighters into dangerous situations if their equipment is not functioning properly. These devices are installed at great expense and it would only take one accident involving a non-functioning fire hydrant to cost your company thousands.
Incorrectly fitted fire hydrants are one of the main causes of large fire hydrant incidents and a lack of fire safety training. Firemen are often called out to fire hydrants that have been fitted where they shouldn’t be, or their fire hydrant caps are missing. If fire hydrants are not installed in accordance with regulations, this could lead to firefighters being unable to gain access to fire hydrants in an emergency situation if they cannot find them or they are incorrectly positioned.
Annual Fire Hydrant Testing
At Target Fire Protection, our team follow a assessment checklist for all fire hydrants we test and inspect.
- The first step in maintaining a hydrant is to visually inspect the frame, cover and indicator place.
- Visual inspection of the underground chamber, hydrant and outlet caps to examine if they are operating correctly.
- In order to identify any leaks, a wet pressure test is conducted.
- A static pressure test, where the technician will apply air or water to see if there’s an airflow problem.
- They should be located at the entrance to the site and if necessary, at 300 metre intervals. The hydrant should provide a minimum of 8 l/sec (480 l/min)
- Process pipes connected with the hydrant have water run through them at varying pressures and temperatures so they can see how it reacts in case there is ever an actual fire
Regular Fire Hydrant Testing Services
It is important for fire hydrant testing to take place on a regular basis because these devices can become blocked by contaminants such as leaves and debris if they are neglected or ignored.
Contaminants greatly reduce the flow of water from the fire hydrant – making them ineffective during an emergency situation that demands immediate use of fire hydrants.
A fire risk assessment takes note of any available fire hydrants, and when they have last been tested.
Ease-of-access is also an important factor when carrying out fire hydrant testing, or any fire hydrant maintenance for that matter. The fire brigade relies on the fire hydrant being completely free of obstructions in order to gain access to it quickly to be able to fight fires effectively. All fire hydrants should be kept clean and be easy to get to, at all times.
If your fire hydrant is not working properly, it does not only put lives at risk but could also cost you a lot of money if there are legal implications – making regular fire hydrant testing essential for businesses. If you need any advice about conducting fire hydrant testing or dry riser testing, get in touch with our team.
