They’re the red metal doors or panels we walk past without a second thought. They’re the entry points found on the exteriors of tall buildings, often painted in eye-catching colors, marked in some official capacity, most often, at the ground level. To the average passerby, they’re markers of standard life; to a firefighter, they’re the only connection between a building’s interior firefighting needs and a truck’s pumping capability. Should a fire break out on the fifteenth floor, access to one of these panels ensures that firefighters can get water to where it needs to go.
What Is a Breech Inlet, Exactly?
How? Because, as a general rule, when flames are raging somewhere at heights that make them inaccessible, firefighters cannot access the municipal water supply. It’s simply too far away, the pressure from city infrastructure cannot reach that high with enough force or pressure to douse flames.
Therefore, tall buildings implement dry risers, building pipes through which water doesn’t travel until firefighters connect from the outside. A breech inlet is that connection. It’s a pipe through which municipal water from the ground enters the building’s riser; once connected by hoses and operated through power provided by the truck’s pumping appliance, water can flow freely through the building at regular, pressurized amounts to any outlet on each floor.
How Does a Breech Inlet Door Work?
What’s cool about breech inlets is that they’re essentially couplings behind a secure door. A door prevents access from outside debris/rain, vandalism and mishap. Firefighters simply need a standard connector that attaches to hoses; the breech inlet offers everything they need. Likewise, the door secures any contents behind it.
Why Position Them Externally?
Firefighters don’t have time to waste establishing a water supply by entering a building on fire; heavy smoke can trap them, structural integrity can cave in. Therefore, should every side be adequately assessed first as required by how far apparatus can park without blocking access to the street, it’s easiest to have a connection on the exterior perimeter. Meanwhile, in situations where firefighters can go inside first but then need to support from outside, it’s equally beneficial having a connection point at ground level.
Where Are Breech Inlets Located?
However, that location must be carefully selected so that fire apparatus can park and connect without being obstructed or endangering its crew. While rarely, if ever, suggested with an unknown location, inside designers of new buildings will understand where firefighters will be able to park safely and where the structure will support signage to ensure access.
British Standards provide designers of inlet couplings with criteria to control location (height established), signage is required for visibility/accessibility purposes and those on buildings set higher require additional protective measures. For larger areas requiring support from multiple trenches or differing sides of an apparatus (due to site obstacles), options exist for a 2 way breech inlet dry riser door that connects from two sides.
Single vs Dual Access
Generally speaking, simple installations create a single entry point through one secured opening where connection is made; easier access if there’s one clear side. However, dual-access configurations make more sense where buildings are located on corners with limited access on one side or where unforeseen site conditions might dictate parking on one side or another.
A two-way breech inlet has connectors/connecting points from either side of it; although firefighters may not generally utilize such vehicles (they’re rarely even 2-way) connecting from one side or the other avoids transferring effort when time is of the essence if they’re not connected appropriately.
What Components Are in Place?
The whole assembly entails more than just a door and coupling; quite literally, there is a breech inlet assembly valve connected to the riser and surrounding features typically in red (to boast their high visibility capabilities), locking features from every angle and secure fittings to avoid weather penetration.
The materials must withstand exposure for years, rain, sun, cold weather, heat of smoke, and they must allow for readily available function when necessary. Standard operable forms include corrosion resistant metals that have durable coats/treatments or otherwise painted red. Locks must deter vandalism but allow for quick access by gloved firefighters, easy enough to use when trained but must be gloved and possibly functioning quickly under duress.
There generally are blanking caps/plates that prevent water access unless in use but they also prevent dirt/rain/debris from entering at inappropriate times; these must be serviceable quickly but not so serviceable that they come undone under duress or over years of exposure.
Maintenance Must Occur
This occurs with systems that require annual testing, what good is an inlet door if it hasn’t been maintained? It may look good on the outside but undercapitalized effort could inhibit function. Corrosion and wear could cause parts not to work while inside cuts could cut installers trying to resolve connection issues.
Periodic inspections must ascertain that doors function properly, interior threads are clean/undamaged, blanking caps are appropriate and signage remains appropriate and visible. Inlet doors need checking to ascertain they should still use fire service equipment threads.
People are responsible for their maintenance, building owners, legally; for example, dry risers require annual testing in the UK by someone competent who will sign off on their success. The inlet is a critical part not just for this connection but part of a liability issue if it fails when it matters.
What Fire Fighters Seek
They want immediate information about them; therefore proper signage is found around prospective areas for connection. It highlights where they should connect according to fire service symbols visible for occupants to exit as well as where it’s positioned for ease of entry unless indicated otherwise.
They exist under comfortable conditions, between 600 and 1200mm above the surface, for reach and connection capability. They have courtesy connections for existing fire service hardware and spacing around them allows crews ample comfort in operating pumps and avoiding hose lines in their faces.
If they’re not standard, that’s fine, but there’s expected directional assignment so firefighters are made aware prior to making an assumption.
Installation Timing for New and Installed Buildings
Ultimately, they’re installed after buildings are erected, or retrofitted, and improper work done creates negative results for years down the road. The inlet must be secured appropriately; drafts shouldn’t be allowed inside thanks to interlocking of fittings between building and exterior doors, and interior doors obviously helping facilitate non-draft circulation.
Locking does no good if everything isn’t connected properly and adequately supported; remember, when time is of the essence due to emergency situations, firefighters will not be gentle with the inlet door.
Compliance matters according to standards and building control/fire safety inspections affirm compliance with appropriate install beyond an easy check mark.
The Bottom Line
They’re solutions between what happens on the outside of a fire service and what’s accessible internally; these engineered compartments deserve their own specification, installation time and efforts and building owners/facility managers/professionals need to understand them whether compliance driven or necessary levels of safety established while minimizing consequences down the road when parts fail.
When firefighters come to save lives and buildings from damage, they need what’s connected to perform as functioned it would be their last means of attack daily, and it’s simply not something that’s relied upon with any consistency either.