IS 3844 : 1989Code of Practice for Installation and Maintenance of Internal Hydrants and Hose Reels on Premises

IS 3844:1989 is the Code of Practice for Installation and Maintenance of Internal Fire Hydrants and Hose Reels in Buildings. It is the foundational standard for the wet riser + hose reel system that NBC 2016 Part 4 Fire and Life Safety requires in most multi-storey Indian buildings.

Use it for: - Wet riser specification, sizing, and routing in residential, commercial, hospital, hotel buildings - Internal hydrant (landing valve) placement at each floor - Hose reel installation (rubber hose, drum, nozzle) - Pump and tank capacity sizing for the fire-protection system - Periodic inspection and maintenance schedule

Not used for: - Sprinkler systems → IS 15105 - Foam systems → IS 12835 / NFPA 11 - Industrial hydrants (outdoor) → IS 13039 - Fire alarm and detection → IS 2189 + NBC Part 4

Most design offices reference IS 3844 alongside NBC 2016 Part 4 Chapter 5 (which gives occupancy-based mandates) and TAC (Tariff Advisory Committee) Rules for insurance compliance. The TAC rules sometimes impose stricter standards than IS 3844.

Wet riser sizing (Clause 4): - Wet riser pipe: minimum 100 mm internal diameter for buildings up to 24 m height; 150 mm for taller - Pressure at the most-remote landing valve: minimum 3.5 kg/cm² (350 kPa) at design flow - Design flow at single hydrant: 2,250 L/min for wet riser; 900 L/min for hose-reel only - Two hydrants assumed running simultaneously for tall buildings (> 30 m)

Landing valve (internal hydrant) placement (Clause 5): - Located in protected staircase lobby or fire-resistant shaft - One per floor minimum; additional valves so no point on the floor is > 30 m from a landing valve - Outlet: 63 mm instantaneous coupling (standard fire-brigade-compatible) - Mounting height: 1.0 m above finished floor level (firefighter-accessible)

Hose reel (Clause 6): - 30 m long, 25 mm bore rubber hose on swinging drum - Permanently charged with water - Operable by single person (untrained occupant) — for first-aid firefighting before brigade arrives - Nozzle: 6 mm orifice, jet/spray adjustable

Water storage (Clause 7): - Dedicated fire-water tank capacity: minimum 20,000 L for buildings up to 15 m; 75,000 L for 15-24 m; 100,000 L for 24-45 m; 150,000+ L beyond - Pump room: jockey pump (10 L/s, maintains pressure), main electric pump (full design flow), diesel standby pump (for power failure) - All pumps housed in fire-rated enclosure with independent ventilation

Weekly checks: - Visual inspection of all landing valves — no leaks, no obstruction, all caps in place - Hose reel — rotates freely, nozzle accessible - Jockey pump — operational, pressure gauge reading - Fire-water tank level

Monthly: - Pump run-test (15 minutes): verify rated flow and pressure at the test point - Diesel pump self-start on simulated power failure - Hose reel — pull out 5 m, test water flow - Pressure-relief and air-release valves on riser

Quarterly: - Full system flush — open the test point at top of riser, let flow stabilise - Hydrant valve operation at every floor (open/close 3 times) - Verify pump room ventilation, fuel level (diesel), battery health (electric)

Annually: - Hose pressure test (hydrostatic test at 1.5× working pressure, 10 minutes) - Pump performance certification (re-test against manufacturer curve) - Full system commissioning re-validation - Issue maintenance certificate (required for fire NOC renewal in most municipalities)

1. Skipping diesel-pump self-start test — most fires happen during power outages (overheated wiring, short circuits). If the diesel pump doesn't self-start, the entire system is dead. This single check is the most common 'gotcha' on annual fire-NOC audits.

2. Hose reel rusted in place — non-operation for years causes the drum bearing to seize. By the time it's needed, occupants can't pull the hose out. Monthly operation drill keeps it functional.

3. Inadequate water-tank reserve — fire-water tank is sometimes shared with domestic supply. NBC 2016 and IS 3844 require dedicated and isolated fire reserve. If a faulty float valve drops domestic water consumption into the fire reserve, the fire system runs dry.

4. Pressure too low at top floor — design assumes 3.5 kg/cm² at the most-remote valve. Long horizontal runs, undersized pipes, and friction losses often reduce this to 1.5-2.0 kg/cm² in tall buildings. Verify with a real test, not just hydraulic calculation.

5. Wrong coupling type — internal hydrants must use 63 mm instantaneous coupling (BIS/India fire-brigade standard). Some imported fittings come with NH (US) or Storz (European) couplings — incompatible with Indian fire-engine hoses. Brigade can't connect; system is useless.

6. No risk-mapping to floor layout — IS 3844 requires no point > 30 m from a landing valve. In long open-plan offices or warehouses, a single landing valve per floor often doesn't cover the layout. Multiple valves needed.

• NBC 2016 Part 4 — Fire and Life Safety (the overarching mandate)
• IS 15105:2002 — Code of Practice for Design and Installation of Fixed Automatic Sprinkler Systems
• IS 13039:1991 — External hydrant systems (yard hydrants, outdoor)
• IS 12835:1989 — Foam fire-extinguishing systems
• IS 2189:2008 — Code of Practice for Selection, Installation and Maintenance of Automatic Fire Detection and Alarm Systems
• IS 8423:1977 — Controlled percolation fire-hydrant valves
• IS 5290:1993 — Landing valves (63 mm instantaneous outlet)
• IS 884:1985 — Couplings for hose reels (instantaneous female type)
• IS 12469:1988 — Pumps for fire-fighting service
• TAC Fire Protection Manual — insurance-side requirements; often stricter than IS 3844 for industrial buildings

IS 3844:1989 is 36 years old and shows it. NBC 2016 Part 4 — which superseded NBC 2005 — incorporates IS 3844 by reference but adds modern provisions (high-rise pressure boosting, fireman's lifts, refuge areas, sprinkler triggers) that IS 3844 alone doesn't cover. Use NBC 2016 Part 4 as the primary design document; use IS 3844 for component specification and maintenance protocols.

A major update is overdue. The 2024 draft amendment to NBC Part 4 (currently in BIS consultation) is expected to mandate: - Performance-based design as an alternative to prescriptive (currently IS 3844 is prescriptive-only) - Tighter ventilation requirements in stairwells - Mandatory third-party commissioning certification - Maintenance log books inspected at fire-NOC renewal

For current Indian projects: use IS 3844 + NBC 2016 + TAC Rules + Local Fire Service requirements (each city has slight variations — Delhi DF&ES, Maharashtra MFB, Karnataka KSFRS — read their checklists). For PPP / international projects (smart city, metro depots): supplement with NFPA 13 (sprinklers), NFPA 14 (standpipe/hydrant), NFPA 20 (pumps) — these are globally accepted and more current than IS.

Fire safety has lowest design margin tolerance of any system — under-design literally kills people. When in doubt, over-specify.