Wet & Dry Risers

Dry Risers have an inlet valve, usually located near the building entrance. The fire service can connect their tender to this and pump water into the building through a dedicated system of pipework. There is a valve on each floor that the firefighters can connect a hose to and deliver the water that is being pumped directly from their tender onto the fire. 

Similar to dry risers, wet risers have a dedicated network of pipework and valves that the fire service can connect a hose to. However, in this case, the water is delivered from an onsite tank with connected pumps, or in some instances is connected directly to the “town mains”.

When it comes to dry and wet riser pressure testing, we test the integrity of the dry riser pipework by using our fully equipped vehicle. It has an inbuilt water tank and pump which charges the pipe to a pressure of 12BAR (at the inlet) for 15 minutes to the requirements of BS 9990: 2015. We record all pressures with our calibrated gauges before dropping the water back into our tank. As part of the maintenance, we also check and exercise all connected valves, cabinets and washers to ensure they are all operating correctly. 

When it comes to wet risers (if applicable), we use the inbuilt test facility, check pressures at all valves using our calibrated gauges and arrange for the pumps to be maintained through an accredited third party. For both dry and wet risers we will also conduct a flow test where practically possible.