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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on January 15, 2009 at 9:34pm

There is an NFPA reference at the end of this. Hope it helps

Fire Hydrant Spacing

Residential areas (lots 20,000 sq. ft. and larger)

* Hydrants maximum of 1,000 feet apart as measured along an improved road and shall be within 500 feet of the center of any improved or recorded lot

Residential areas (lots less than 20,000 sq. ft.)

* Hydrants maximum of 750 feet apart as measured along an improved road and a hydrant shall be within 500 feet of the center of any improved or recorded lot

Residential areas (townhouse or garden apartments - 3 story or less)

* Hydrants maximum of 500 feet apart as measured along an improved roadway and a hydrant shall be within 300 feet of any dwelling

All other uses of property including commercial and industrial as listed in the Anne Arundel County Zoning regulations, including high rise or elevator type apartments

* Hydrants shall be a maximum of 300 feet apart as measured along an improved roadway.
* No portion of the exterior perimeter of any new building or any new addition to an existing building shall be more than 300 feet from a fire hydrant as measured along an approved route. Radial measurements are not acceptable. When any portion of the exterior building perimeter is in excess of 300 feet from a public hydrant, on-site fire mains capable of supplying the required fire flow shall be provided and a sufficient number of hydrants shall be provided such that no portion of the exterior perimeter of the building is more than 300 feet from a hydrant.

Hydrants shall be located at street intersections whenever possible.

* Hydrants not located at intersections shall be located in relation to property lines in order to avoid interference with future driveways
* Hydrants shall be located to provide vehicular clearance from the street
* Hydrant spacing is to be measured linearly along an improved roadway or fire lane; radial measurements are not appropriate
* Hydrants shall be located within 8 feet of the finished curbing on the end of the pave surface
* Hydrants shall be located not less than 40 feet from buildings. (NFPA 24, 7.2.3, 2002 edition)

Reference: Fire Marshal Division Policy and Procedure H-8, NFPA 1: 18.3.3.1 as amended AACo. Code.

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Permalink Reply by Capt.Alex Arnold on January 15, 2009 at 9:44pm

Well,Jay pretty much said it all.

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Permalink Reply by Douglas F. Hankinson on January 15, 2009 at 10:17pm

Jay: Many thanks for your speedy reply and for the reference. It's all good. Doug

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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on January 15, 2009 at 10:18pm

google+cut & paste. Glad i could help

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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on January 15, 2009 at 10:35pm

There are a couple of other things to keep in mind along with the NFPA codes. The placement of hydrants and type of hydrants also depend on the water system, the output potential and also the fire loading of the neighborhood in question. If you have a sub-division thats owned by 2 families with 2 houses (less than 1000 feet of road) would you mandate 2 hydrants? How long is your LDH on top of your engines? (generally 1000 to 1200') Common sense prevails at times.

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Permalink Reply by Douglas F. Hankinson on January 16, 2009 at 8:25am

You're right, too many hydrants would certainly look comical as well as be a waste of municipal money which could better be spent elsewhere. That's a large concern our district. Yet, this thing we call "common sense" is not so common as we'd like to think. Many thanx for the notes. Doug

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