Importance of fire hose reel and fire hydrants equipment

Fire hose reels and hydrants are always at the forefront when it comes to fire defence techniques. Fire hose reels behave as the “first attack” fire fighting measure for occupants of a building. Today fire fighting systems and various types of fire equipment varies on the age, size, use and type of the building construction. Some of the basic fire equipment that any building must have include fire extinguishers, fire hose reels, fire hydrant systems and sprinkler systems. These equipment are also referred to as Hand-Operated fire fighting equipment and they prove to be active fire protection devices that can be used to extinguish or control a fire in emergency situations. Fire Extinguishers are commonly used by all but fire hose reels are equally important in times of fire.

Fire Hose Reels

Fire Hose Reels are renowned for providing unlimited water supply to extinguish fires and protect against the heat. They can extinguish a fire up to ten times greater than fire extinguishers. In addition to this, the stream from the fire hose reels allows their users to be at least 4 metres from the seat of the fire compared with 2 metres for fire extinguishers. Fire hose reels, however, are not suitable for use when it comes to chemical and electrical fires. According to the Australian standard AS2441, the fire hose reel or reels should be located within a design that the occupant can reach the fire in any part of the building. The maximum length of hose allowed is 36m with a 4m spray from the nozzle.

Fire Hydrants

Fire hydrant systems should only be used by trained firefighters. This also includes factory fire-fighting teams. This is because a fire hydrant pressure is very high that can cause serious injuries to anyone who is not trained efficiently and attempts to use a fire hydrant. It is a water reticulation system that is used to transport water in order to limit the amount of hose, thereby, speeding up the fire fighting process. Australian Standard AS2419 states how a fire hydrant system should be designed, installed and commissioned.

At Victorian Fire Protection, is a leading provider of Fire Equipment services. Our VFP Fire safety offers fire warden and fire equipment training. The course complies with Australian Standard 3745 Emergency Control Organizations. Our nationally accredited Fire Warden training program would ensure that your workforce is ready to deal with emergency fire situations at the workplace. Connect with us now on 1300 974 877 or visit At www.vfp.com.au for further information.