A fire hydrant is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water supply to assist in extinguishing a fire.
In Australia there is a single standard (AS 2419.2) which every hydrant must be designed to. Every state however can choose their own screw thread so make sure that your hydrants are the right ones.
If you have any questions regarding your hydrants please feel free to ask.
Fire Hydrant Systems for Buildings with Fire Compartments in Excess of 2000m2.
The Building Code of Australia (Part E1.3) requires fire hydrant systems to be installed in accordance with Australian Standard 2419.1 – 2005.
This Standard specifies that the fire hydrant system design must meet the operational requirements of the attending fire service.
QFRS requires boosted on-site hydrants where a single street hydrant doesn’t cover a fire compartment over 2000m2 in size.
Booster systems incorporate a site-plan showing the location of all on-site hydrants. This allows the attending fire service to most effectively deploy resources immediately.
Hydrant and Water Supply Requirements for Developments outside the Standard QFRS Response Time
The Building code of Australia (E1.3) required the installation of a fire hydrant system to serve a building having a total floor area greater than 500m2 and where a fire brigade is available to attend a building fire. QFRS interprets the words “where a fire brigade is available to attend” to refer to a situation where:
A fire brigade is staffed by:
- QFRS permanent fire-fighters, or
- QFRS Auxiliary fire-fighters, or
- A combination of (i) and (ii), or
- Fire-fighters from a private fire service who are trained in structural fire fighting techniques and have a pumping appliance available (example – Hamilton Island)
and; following fire service notification, this fire brigade can arrive at the site of the fire within:
- 30 minutes for class 5,6,7,8 or 9b buildings greater than 500m² and up to 1000m²; or
- 40 minutes for a class 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9b buildings greater than 1000m²; or
- 40 minutes for a class 2, 3, 9a or 9c building greater than 500m²
Where a fire hydrant system is required to be installed to serve a building with a total floor area greater than 500m2 and where a fire brigade is available to attend as determined by the QFRS interpretation above, then the water supply requirements for hydrant systems as specified in Australian Standards 2419.1 must be met.
Alternatively, consideration could be given to adopting an Alternative Solution approach.
Physical Protection of Pillar Hydrants
QFRS will not accept hydrant systems mounted on, passed through or fixed to external tilt-up panel walls in non-sprinkler protected buildings. If external fire hydrants are to be positioned less than 10 metres from the building it protects, then they must be safeguarded by a minimum of 90/90/90 fire-resistant shielding construction, in accordance with Australian Standards 2419.1 Clause 3.2.2.2 (e).
If not already provided, QFRS will request written confirmation from a competent person that the shielding construction achieves the required FRL from both sides and does not rely on any supporting structural elements that do not achieve at least the same FRL as the shielding construction itself.
QFRS requires external hydrants to be protected by bollard/s where they may be damaged by vehicles.
Fire Hydrant and Vehicle Access Guidelines for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Lots
For applications seeking development approval for material change of use or reconfiguring a lot for the purpose of building, where streets and common access ways are proposed regardless of building classification.
Where reticulated hydrant systems and vehicle access are not currently required under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA), the Building Act 1975 or Building Code of Australia (BCA) the measures in this document should be adopted.