IS 884:1985 is the Indian Standard (BIS) for first-aid hose-reel for fire fighting. This standard lays down the specification for materials, construction, dimensions, and testing of first-aid hose-reels used for firefighting installations in buildings. Engineers and fire safety professionals use this code to ensure wall-mounted hose reels provide immediate, reliable water access with adequate flow and throw range during the early stages of a fire.
Specification for First-Aid Hose-Reel For Fire Fighting
Key reference values — verify against the current code edition / project specification.
| Reference | Value | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Occupant first-attack before brigade arrives | Scope |
| Hose | Semi-rigid — flows as pulled out (not lay-flat) | Critical |
| Supply | Permanently connected to pressurised riser (no priming) | Critical |
| Performance | Discharge + jet throw at the WORST (top/remote) reel | Accept |
| Operation | One-person pull-out, one-handed shut-off nozzle | Usability |
| Siting | Accessible, unobstructed, on escape route (NBC Part 4) | NBC |
BIM-relevant code. See the BIM Hub for ISO 19650, IFC, and LOD/LOIN frameworks used alongside it.
IS 884:1985 is the specification for first-aid hose-reel for fire fighting — the fixed, swinging hose reel (small-bore tubing on a drum with a shut-off nozzle) provided on each floor/area so an occupant can attack an incipient fire *immediately*, before the brigade arrives. It is a life-safety appliance code.
It is read with the fire-protection stack:
A first-aid hose reel must let an *untrained* occupant get an effective water jet on a small fire instantly and one-handed — so IS 884 fixes:
The engineering point: a hose reel is judged by instant, one-person operability + adequate throw at the worst reel — a reel that needs full unwinding, or has no pressure at the top floor, is useless in the 60 seconds that matter.
Scenario: first-aid hose reels on each floor of a building, fed from the wet riser.
Step 1 — requirement: NBC Part 4 mandates hose reels for the occupancy → one per defined floor area, sited on the escape route, hose length covering the floor.
Step 2 — spec: IS 884 reel with the specified semi-rigid hose length + shut-off nozzle, permanently connected to the pressurised riser (read with IS 3844 for the installation).
Step 3 — worst-reel performance: verify the discharge & jet throw at the topmost/remotest reel at the design residual pressure meet IS 884 — top-floor reels with inadequate pressure are the classic failure.
Step 4 — operability: confirm one-person pull-out (semi-rigid hose runs out without full unwinding/kinking) and one-handed nozzle.
Step 5 — accept & maintain: corrosion-protected, accessible, unobstructed; commission with a flow/throw test at the worst reel, and include in the periodic fire-equipment maintenance regime.
1. Inadequate pressure at the top/remotest reel. A reel with no effective throw on the top floor is useless — the system must be proven at the *worst* reel, not the pump.
2. Wrong hose (not semi-rigid). Soft lay-flat hose must be fully unwound to flow; semi-rigid reel hose flows as it's pulled out — using the wrong hose defeats instant first-attack.
3. Not permanently connected / needs priming. A hose reel must be live the instant the valve opens; anything needing priming or coupling is not a first-aid reel.
4. Obstructed / inaccessible siting. A reel boxed-in or behind stored goods can't be reached in the seconds that matter.
5. No maintenance. Seized valves, perished hose, no pressure — hose reels degrade silently and must be periodically tested (IS 1646).
IS 884 is old (1985) and reaffirmed; the first-aid hose reel is the occupant's first-attack appliance — its entire value is in the 60–90 seconds before a fire grows beyond first-aid control, so *instant one-person operability and adequate throw at the worst reel* are everything. The recurring failures are systemic, not the reel: no pressure at the top-floor reel, wrong (non-semi-rigid) hose, not permanently live, or obstructed siting — all of which make the appliance present but non-functional when needed.
The practitioner contract: take the requirement and siting from NBC Part 4, install per IS 3844 permanently connected to the pressurised riser, and prove discharge + throw at the hydraulically-worst reel at commissioning — then keep it accessible and in the periodic fire-equipment maintenance regime (IS 1646). A hose reel that looks fine but has no pressure on the top floor is exactly the failure this specification, properly applied and tested, prevents.
| Parameter | IS Value | International | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Flow Rate | 24 L/min at 0.2 N/mm² (2 bar) | ≥0.45 L/s (27 L/min) at 220 kPa | AS/NZS 1221:1997 |
| Flow Rate Performance (19mm hose) | Performance specified by fixed flow/pressure (24 L/min at 2 bar) | Performance specified by minimum K-factor of 28 (delivers ~39.6 L/min at 2 bar) | EN 671-1:2012 |
| Maximum Hose Length | 36 metres | 30 metres | EN 671-1:2012 |
| Specified Working Pressure | 0.7 N/mm² (7 bar) | 1.2 MPa (12 bar) | EN 671-1:2012 |
| Hydrostatic Proof Pressure (Assembly) | 2.1 N/mm² (21 bar) | 1.8 MPa (18 bar) | EN 671-1:2012 |
| Hose Internal Diameters | 19 mm or 25 mm | 19 mm, 25 mm, or 33 mm | EN 671-1:2012 |
| Nozzle Jet Orifice | 6.4 mm | Performance-based (K-factor), not a specified dimension. Typically 6 mm for K-28. | EN 671-1:2012 |
| Hose Specification | Conforming to IS 3651 (Rubber Hose) | Conforming to EN 694 (Semi-rigid Hose) | EN 671-1:2012 |