Privately Owned Fire Hydrants

The Town of Hebron has both public fire hydrants and private fire hydrants in the water distribution system. All public fire hydrants are maintained by the Town of Hebron's Water Department. It is the private property owner’s responsibility to maintain a private fire hydrant. This page has been prepared to provide guidance for conducting tests and inspections of private hydrants connected to the water system.

This page and documents are intended to aid private fire hydrant owners with information for proper maintenance, testing and marking of their fire hydrants. In no way will this document replace proper training and experience. It should not be viewed as a training manual but as a guide to the proper execution of these functions.

Fire hydrants spend most of their time unused and ignored, yet they are called upon in a moment’s notice to provide fire flow for the protection of a business or home. They are an indispensable facet of the overall fire protection features of a building. Because of the way land is platted and easements are granted, there are a number of private fire hydrants within the Town. These hydrants are required for the fire protection of a building, but they are useless unless regularly maintained.

Furthermore, they should be painted and labeled as described in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 291 so that firefighters can quickly identify the system capability of the hydrant. 

The owner is responsible for testing, maintenance and marking of privately- owned fire hydrants and assumes all liability for the proper operation, maintenance, and marking of private hydrants. Flow testing of private hydrants may only be performed by a contractor registered with the Town.

The following publications should be used when installing, testing or inspecting fire hydrants. 

• Installation, Field Testing, and Maintenance of Fire Hydrants (AWWA M17) 
• Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems (NFPA 25) 
• Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems (NFPA 13) 
• Recommended Practice for Fire Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants (NFPA 291) 
• AWWA Standard for Dry-Barrel Hydrants (C502-94) 
• AWWA Standard for Disinfecting of Water Mains (C651-99) 
• AWWA Standards for Installation of Pipe (C600 thru C606)