Believe it or not, there are private fire hydrants owned and maintained by their owners on private property. According to the International Fire Code, a private fire hydrant is mandated to have the needed water supply so it operates properly and can provide fire protection. When the nearest public fire hydrant is too far for the local fire department to use to fight a fire, a private fire hydrant is installed to solve the problem.

The Requirements for Private Fire Hydrants Annual Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance

Featured as follows are the NFPA 25 mandate requirements for Standard for Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. One would not think that a piece of firefighting equipment like a public or private fire hydrant can have issues crop up, but they can. It is highly recommended that private fire hydrants get flow tested every year. A flow test will remove existing foreign matter from the private service main. This test is completed annually for the reason that small boulders, large rocks, or various materials have been known to work their way into the main fire-line and create a blockage. Completing this task permits the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance vendor the determine if there are any major impending issues prior to them created bigger problems that cause the system to not work at all. The NFPA 25 Chapter 7 contains information covering inspection, testing, and maintenance of private fire hydrants and private fire service mains.    

The tasks feature here are a basic list of the task involved in the inspection. Contact Brazas Fire at 505-8998-8999 to discuss the inspection price and the full list of what is entailed in completing a private fire hydrant and water main inspection, testing, and maintenance.

Private Fire Hydrant Inspection

• Required annual inspections and the system must be inspected post-operation use.
• Required annual inspection of all exposed piping.
• Required annual inspection of all underground piping.

Private Fire Hydrant Maintenance

• Annual lubrication must be done on all private fire hydrants. This includes lubrication of all stems, caps, plugs, and threads, to make certain they are in good working order.
• Per NFPA 25 Chapter 7 private fire hydrants must be maintained by keeping clear of all negative materials including ice, snow and built-up gunk. Doing this maintenance regularly will keep it in good operating condition free from potential harm so it works correctly and can be accessed easily.

Private Fire Hydrant Testing

• Annual hydrant flow testing
• Annual hydrant full flow test. Water flow must be kept a full flow to push out any foreign matter including rocks, small boulders, or tree branches. Flow test must be run for a full minute at a minimum.
• Upon completion of flow test, both wall hydrants and dry barrel hydrants will be viewed for correct drainage and must not need in excess of one hour to drain completely.
• Annual flow testing of exposed and underground piping must be done every five year.

Private Fire Hydrant SERVICE & REPAIR

Brazas Fire inspects, tests and flush Privately Owned fire hydrants. Systems are required to be tested annually per NFPA 25. We will check for any damage to the hydrant, missing caps, and proper height.  We replace rubber gaskets in caps if they are leaking. Flow tests are performed with documented static pressure reading, residual pressure readings taken when flowing, and pitot flow determining gallons per minute.