What is a Dry Riser?

A dry riser is a very important tool, especially to a fire fighter trying to save lives. Dry risers can often go unnoticed and many people don’t know what they are. Here at MAGG we regularly service dry risers and want take this opportunity to give people a better insight to what and how important they are.

What is a dry riser

A dry riser is empty vertical pipe built within a high-rise building, the fire service uses this pipe to gain high levels of water to high floors. The ground floor inlet can be connected externally to a fire engine which will pump the water up through the building to where required. Dry risers have outlets on each floor of the building which allows the fire fighters to distribute high pressured water to multiple levels of a building.

What buildings have dry risers

Under UK regulations, dry risers are a requirement for buildings over 18m tall, but less than 60meters. This translates to about 6 stories and above, but less than 17. Anything more than this would then require a wet riser.

Do dry risers need to be serviced?

To comply with British Standards BS9990 regulations, dry riser servicing should include visual inspection every 6 months, and a full wet test annually. It is important to undertake dry riser servicing and testing, as these inspections ensure all component parts are not damaged in anyway and are therefore in full working order. If you’re concerned about possible damage from conducting a wet test, MAGG Fire Services can undertake a dry test first to ascertain the integrity of the system. Obviously if this test highlights any problem areas, these can be rectified prior to undertaking the wet test.

What is the difference between a wet and dry riser

Wet risers will be found in buildings over 60 meters above ground level as a dry riser would be unable to provide the pressure needed to send the water up to that height. A wet riser is very much like a dry riser, it is a system of valves and pipe work the same as a dry riser, but a wet riser is permanently charged with water and would not need to be connected to a fire engine for the water to be supplied.

If you have any questions about dry or wet riser systems or you have a dry riser that needs servicing then contact MAGG Fire Services, we are experienced in serving and maintaining dry risers with very competitive prices.