Fire Hydrant/Private Service Main Testing
Regular fire hydrant inspection and testing is an important part of sustaining your company’s fire extinguishing systems.
Properly maintained hydrants assist firefighters in suppressing flames while ensuring life and property safety for your business. Some other benefits of routine inspections and testing are:
Lower insurance premiums
Meet local/state code compliance
Peace of mind your hydrant works when needed
Reduce liability and property damage risk
Patriot Fire Protection is licensed by the State of Georgia to inspect, test, and maintain hydrants and private service water mains in Metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia. We can certify that your firefighting systems and equipment are in ideal working order and meet compliance standards.
Common Types of Fire Hydrants
Hydrants provide firefighters with above-ground connections to water sources. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) governs the general standards for size, outlet quantity, number of valves, operating pressure, and other requirements.
A water supply may be pressurized or unpressurized. Hydrants linked to water mains buried in the street are pressurized. Hydrants connected to nearby ponds, lakes, or reservoirs are unpressurized.
There are two common categories of hydrants
Wet Barrel Hydrant
This type is connected directly to the pressurized water source. The upper standpipe section, or barrel, is always filled with water. Each outlet has its own valve with a stem extending from the barrel’s side.
Dry Barrel Hydrant
Typically used in areas with below freezing winter temperatures, this type is separated from the pressurized water source by a main valve below ground. The upper section remains dry until the main valve is opened and pressurized via a long stem extending through the bonnet. When the valve is closed, the barrel drains. There are no valves on the outlets, but some dry hydrants have 1/4-inch outlets for pressure gauges. Unpressurized hydrants are always created in a dry barrel design.
The AWWA and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommend color coding them based on water flow capacity for fast identification. Designated colors used on the cap, bonnet, and barrel or upper stand pipe indicate to firefighters the available gallons per minute (GPMs).
Why Conduct Fire Hydrant Flow Tests?
We conduct hydrant flow tests for a variety of reasons like measuring water distribution conditions and flow availability data. These tests are also crucial to the correct design of sprinkler systems and piping needed for commercial, industrial, and residential buildings.
Flow tests provide important measurements used in fire prevention and containment such as:
Residual (flowing) pressure
Static (non-flowing) pressure
Main capacity tests check water supply availability in the water main and are helpful in the design of sprinkler systems. Hydrant capacity tests gauge the available flow rate to ensure the device will perform as expected when needed most.
NFPA 291 provides direction on testing to determine available water flow and identify possible defects to fix. Consistent maintenance promotes increased efficiency for firefighters and reduction in property damage.
Let one of our experience professionals provide a free fire safety consultation!
Fire Hydrants Require Regular Inspections
NFPA code standards require hydrants to be inspected and tested on a routine basis. This assures that defects are repaired as soon as possible, and device operation can be relied on in an emergency.
Some issues that may inhibit the hydrant’s function are:
Accidental damage from vehicles
Closed or obstructed valves
During inspection and testing, an expert technician should complete a thorough checklist of items including but not limited to:
Accessibility & visibility
Correct above-ground height
Cracked or missing caps
Leaky or inoperable nozzles, gaskets, valves
Paint condition and color coding
Placement on water district maps
Proper drainage following use
Water flow using a pressure gauge
The technician should record all issues and repairs along with the static pressure reading, date, and time. The documentation must then be filed with the appropriate local authorities.