Dry fire hydrant system

FRNSW endorse the guideline Design, Installation and Maintenance Requirements for Dry Hydrants as published by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, as guidance to practitioners who design, install and maintain an internal dry fire hydrant system within any building.

The following must be considered when an internal dry fire hydrant system is being installed:

  • The system can only be installed in a Class 2 or Class 3 building only; the National Construction Code (NCC) does not allow dry fire hydrants to be installed in multiple Classification buildings (i.e. a single or united building cannot have both a wet and dry fire hydrant system installed).
  • The system necessitates different design considerations to a wet fire hydrant system; a dry hydrant system is not a wet system emptied of water thus may have other non-compliances to AS 2419.1.
  • The system performance depends on the sprinkler system installed and any corresponding concession that is permitted under the NCC.
  • The system design may apply any fire hydrant flow concession across the number of hydrants required to flow, as determined by AS 2419.1 (e.g. 1 = 6 L/s, 2 = 12 L/s etc.).
  • The system can comprise internal hydrants only; dry external attack fire hydrants are not permitted in the system’s design.
  • The system must be left dry post any commissioning or testing; any dry fire hydrant system containing residual water due to improper drainage may be identified as being non-compliant.
  • The system may only comprise a street fire hydrant if the hydrant is within 60 m and is fully accessible; if the street fire hydrant is not fully accessible then a feed hydrant must be installed and located as part of the fire brigade booster assembly.

Note: an internal dry fire hydrant system cannot be installed if the statement of available pressure and flow from the water network utility operator shows insufficient performance for the design; the internal dry fire hydrant system cannot incorporate tanks and/or pumps into the design.

Position statement summary

Updated: 4th June 2024