Short answer:  There is no reason for, or benefit in, recording information about public fire hydrants in a fire risk assessment carried out in pursuance with Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended) (or equivalent legislation in Scotland or Northern Ireland).  

Long answer:
The dutyholder under the relevant fire safety legislation, for the building being assessed, has no control over public fire hydrants, nor do they have responsibility for their upkeep or maintenance. These duties fall to the water undertaking and the local fire & rescue service.   Indeed, unauthorised access to public hydrant pits is prohibited. This approach is supported, for example, in England, by sections 42 (6) and 42 (7) of the Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004 which state: 
(6) A person commits an offence if he uses a fire hydrant otherwise than—
•    for the purposes of fire-fighting or for any other purposes of a fire and rescue authority, or
•    for any purpose authorised by the water undertaker 
•      or other person to whom the hydrant belongs.
(7) A person commits an offence if he damages or obstructs a fire hydrant, otherwise than in consequence of use for the purposes mentioned in subsection (6).

Until the publication of BS 9792:  2025 Fire Risk Assessment, Housing. Code of Practice, the only reference to public fire hydrants in fire risk assessment guidance documents, including those issued by central government, was in relation to the obstruction of hydrants by parked vehicles. 

The fire safety maintenance check lists in the DCLG fire risk assessment guides include a recommendation to check that fire hydrant meter by-pass valves have been serviced by a competent person. Fire hydrant meter by-pass valves form part of a private fire hydrant system, and as such the valves and fire hydrants beyond the meter by-pass valve are the responsibility of the Responsible Person. That is not the case for public fire hydrants which are installed and maintained by local water companies and tested by the local fire authority.   

The commentary on clause 15.12  in BS 9792 states:  All systems, equipment and facilities for use by the fire and rescue service therefore need to be taken into account in the FRA, including evidence that they operate in accordance with their design specification, are tested and maintained, and that instructional signage for direction of the fire and rescue service is clear and appropriate.

Unfortunately, the guidance doesn’t discriminate between public, and private fire hydrants. This is problematic because only authorised persons are permitted to access public fire hydrant pits, and neither fire risk assessors nor the dutyholder for adjacent buildings, would be considered an authorised person. Moreover, it has never before been suggested that searching for, and determining the performance of, public fire hydrants has been any part of carrying out a fire risk assessment in pursuance of fire safety legislation.

Clause 15.12 b) of BS 9792 states “Water supply (hydrants) Private or public water supply hydrants in the immediate vicinity of buildings with dry or wet fire mains are an integral facility likely to be used by firefighters to supply the fire mains. The capacity of these hydrants needs to be considered and assessed in the FRA for adequacy.”

In the opinion of the FIA, this is neither necessary or practicable.

Similarly, the template for an FRA contained in BS 9792 requires that shortfalls in maintenance of fire hydrants are recorded, and that a weekly check of fire hydrants is carried out, without making it clear that this can surely only apply to private fire hydrants.

Furthermore, neither the dutyholder nor the fire risk assessor will be aware of the FRS pre-plan for firefighting at the premises.  For example, they may be aware that certain hydrants are unsuitable for use; they may also intend to rely on other sources of water.

Clause 15.12 c) of BS 9792 states : “Access for fire appliances and to firefighting facilities Access to the curtilage of the building for fire appliances, and access by firefighters to hydrants and the inlets for dry or wet fire mains, is critical to rapid and effective firefighting actions. The FRA needs to consider the efficacy of these and any risks posed by impeded access, car parking arrangements or obstructions that might cause delays to firefighting.”

Section 42 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 makes it illegal[1] to obstruct or damage a public fire hydrant, and enforcement of the legislation sits squarely with the local Fire and Rescue Authority. So, one has to consider what control or influence the dutyholder has over an obstructed public fire hydrant before adding it to a fire risk assessment as a significant finding.

BS 9792 goes on to recommend various observations and commentary that Assessors are required to make about fire hydrants but fails to discriminate between public and private facilities or recognise the lack of control and responsibility that the dutyholder has over publicly owned and operated facilities. So, while the guidance that is set out in BS 9792 is appropriate for privately owned fire hydrants it cannot be applied to public fire hydrants.  

In the opinion of the FIA, this is a significant error in the drafting of BS 9792 and the FIA have raised this with BSi as an official comment.