Fire safety equipment that is in good working order and full operational should be a high priority in all buildings. However, this should be even more so the case in education facilities such as schools, colleges and nurseries. Here at Jensen Security and Fire Safety we have completed dry riser maintenance services in many education facilities.
The pipes within dry risers are empty. They are then filled with water by the emergency fire services when they arrive at an incident. At this point, the dry riser is then charged with water from the fire engine. In case of a fire, the fire fighters will take their hose to the floor below the fire and connect it to the landing valve. This is then opened to allow the water through the hose to fight the fire.
It is essential that dry riser maintenance is regularly completed in education buildings. This regular maintenance will ensure that the dry riser is in good working order. Then, if there was an emergency, the dry riser would help the fire fighters quickly and efficiently put the fire out.
When was the last time you had maintenance completed on your dry risers? Servicing and maintenance of your dry riser equipment should be carried out on at least an annual basis. The importance of a dry riser that does not work cannot be underestimated. It could be the difference between life and death for people within the building.
The 2015 British Standards BS9990 recommends in their regulations that a visual inspection of all dry riser equipment should be performed at least once every six months. Further to this, a more detailed and physical dry riser test should be completed at least once a year.
If the emergency services cannot quickly and easily gain access to the dry riser equipment, or if it is faulty, this will hamper their attempts to fight the fire. In turn, this can further endanger lives. This is the importance of dry riser maintenance in education; to save lives.
Following all dry riser tests or services our fire safety specialists complete, you will be issued with a certificate. This certificate is issued to record the date of the testing. It will also confirm that the dry riser equipment has passed all testing and meets requirements of BS9990:2015.
