Find out who supplies water to your parcel
Most hydrant projects in Montebello start with one question. Who is your water provider? The city lists four: California Water Service, Montebello Land & Water Company, San Gabriel Valley Water Company & City of Montebello Water Department, and South Montebello Irrigation District. It depends on the site.
That provider is the one you work with for a hydrant flow test, and the flow numbers tell the designer how much water a new hydrant and fire service main can count on at your address. Get this first.
What a private hydrant installation includes
A private hydrant sits inside your property line. It's fed by an underground fire service main that you own. NFPA 24 is the standard for those mains and their appurtenances. A typical scope covers:
- The underground fire service main from the supply to the hydrant
- Control valves on the main
- The hydrant itself, set and restrained
- Flushing and testing before the system goes into service
Some projects add a hydrant to an existing main. Others run a new main across a parking lot or around a building, and those take more planning because the route, the valves and the connection point all show up on the drawings. Ask early.
Plan review with the Montebello Fire Department
The Montebello Fire Department's Community Risk Reduction Division handles plan review for new construction. Plans go in through the Montebello Plan Submittal Portal or as three paper sets. Fees are due at submittal. That means plan check and permit fees alike.
Before your drawings are final, confirm the current code edition and any hydrant location or access requirements with the fire marshal's office, since those details can move a hydrant from one side of a driveway to the other.
Once the hydrant is in service
A new hydrant starts a yearly obligation. Under NFPA 25, private fire hydrants are flow tested and inspected every year. NFPA 291 sets the flow test method and the bonnet color code for each flow class.
See annual fire hydrant testing in Montebello for the yearly visit, or fire hydrant maintenance and fire hydrant repair if a test finds a leak, a stuck valve or a damaged bonnet.
Who is licensed to do it
Our California work is done by Hedrick Fire Protection. Hedrick holds C-16 (fire protection) and C-10 (electrical) contractor licenses and is licensed by the California State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for portable extinguisher service and for inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems.
To talk through a Montebello hydrant project, call (213) 568-0188 or email socal@1profire.com
More for Montebello: the Montebello fire protection hub, private fire hydrant services and fire sprinkler installation. Nearby: fire hydrant installations in Los Angeles County and fire hydrant installations in Orange County.
Hydrant installation questions
Who runs the flow test for my Montebello site?
It depends on which of the city's four water providers serves your parcel. Start there.
Where do the plans go?
To the Community Risk Reduction Division of the Montebello Fire Department, through the Plan Submittal Portal or as three paper sets.
How often does a private hydrant need testing?
Every year. NFPA 25 calls for an annual flow test and inspection.
What does an installation cost?
It varies by site. The length of the main, the number of valves and what the water provider requires all change the price, so we quote each project from its plans.