What’s a Dry Riser?

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A dry riser, known in some places as a standpipe, is an empty vertical water pipe within a multi-story structure. Some are connected on each floor to piping networks that will distribute water to local sprinklers and fire hose connections, while others simply have connections for fire hoses. Dry risers have external connections at ground level accessible by fire personnel, who will make the connections to charge the systems with water. Typically installed within fireproof stairwells, drywall risers are required by all building codes in the United States and most building codes worldwide for high-rise structures. In those jurisdictions where drywall risers are not required by local building codes, installation costs are often recouped quickly by saving on insurance premiums.

Water can be delivered from a dry riser to a fire site more quickly than firefighters hauling hoses up flights of stairs, especially in a high-rise structure. Most dry riser systems have lengths of fire hose already coupled to a connection on each floor, which saves valuable time in the event of an actual fire. When this is the case, some firefighters may use those hoses to begin putting out a fire while their colleagues carry additional hoses to connect to the dry riser connections.

Many facilities today have automatic sprinkler systems that are constantly maintained with a pressurized water supply. These systems are typically only activated when the temperature reaches a point above what is thought to be livable by humans, when ambient temperature boils a liquid in a brittle glass bulb, breaking the glass. Automatic sprinklers are indispensable when it comes to saving property, but they are not as effective in saving lives because they are stationary and cannot follow a fire or clear an escape route.

England was the site of the first installation of a dry riser, in 1812. It consisted of a large water tank connected to a drilled pipe system in a theatre. When the fire was discovered, a valve was opened and the rig was charged with water escaping from the drillings, extinguishing the fire. Drywall suspenders quickly became popular in industrial applications such as factories and warehouses in England and Europe and quickly spread to New England textile mills.

Dry risers were initially employed as manually operated sprinkler systems, but as they were supplanted by automatic systems, their primary purpose changed. In modern times, they are in great demand in high-rise structures, even those that have automatic sprinkler systems in place, because they deliver a high volume of pressurized water directly to firefighting personnel. It is this ability to deliver water in large quantities to any specific point that allows firefighters to put out fires quickly and save lives – a capability that goes beyond automatic sprinkler systems.

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