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Annual Fire Hydrant Testing in San Bernardino County

We flow test and inspect private hydrants under NFPA 25 at sites across the county's Valley, Mountain, North Desert and East Desert regions.

(909) 219-9411
  1. California
  2. San Bernardino County
  3. Annual Fire Hydrant Testing

NFPA 25 annual flow test and inspection · NFPA 291 bonnet marking · Work by Hedrick Fire Protection

Private hydrants in San Bernardino County get the same yearly test as anywhere else. What changes here is who you call. The county has no single water purveyor, and the fire office that reviews your records depends on your city, so a hydrant test here starts with two phone numbers before anyone picks up a wrench. We handle the test. Here's how to sort the rest.

Find out whose water is in the main

A flow test opens a hydrant wide and sends a lot of water across the yard or down the street. That water comes from your purveyor. In the western valley alone, the Inland Empire Utilities Agency counts Chino, Chino Hills, Cucamonga Valley Water District, Fontana Water Company, Monte Vista Water District, Ontario and Upland among its member agencies, and other parts of the county are served by other suppliers. Check your water bill. The name on it is the agency to contact about the flow test, and the one to ask for pressure data at your connection.

Find out which fire office reads your records

San Bernardino County Fire's Office of the Fire Marshal is the District's inspection, investigation and regulatory arm. Headquarters: 598 S. Tippecanoe Ave., San Bernardino. Its cities include Adelanto, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Hesperia, Needles, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Upland and Yucca Valley. Other cities run their own fire agency. Rancho Cucamonga is one: its fire district has a Prevention Bureau under its own Fire Marshal that handles high-hazard Fire Code inspections, so a hydrant record for a site there goes to a different office than one in Fontana. Not sure which applies? Ask your city's fire marshal, or start with the San Bernardino County Fire Office of the Fire Marshal.

What we do at each hydrant

NFPA 25 calls for each private hydrant to be inspected and flow tested once a year. NFPA 24 covers the private main and fittings that feed it. Here's the order:

  1. Look the hydrant over: caps, outlet threads, operating nut, barrel and flange, and any sign of leaks, paint failure or impact damage from trucks.
  2. Open it fully and flow it until the water runs clear.
  3. Take static and residual pressure at one hydrant and a pitot reading at the flowing outlet, following NFPA 291, so the flow figure comes from gauges on the day.
  4. Close it slowly.
  5. Confirm a dry barrel drains.

NFPA 291 also sets the bonnet color code by flow class. If the reading puts a hydrant in a different class than its paint shows, the bonnet should be changed to match the new result, because responding crews read that color from the engine.

Mountain sites and freezing weather

Big Bear Lake sits near 6,750 feet. Winter there drops below freezing. A dry-barrel hydrant that doesn't drain after a test can hold water in the barrel, and frozen water can crack it, which is why the drain check in step five counts for more up the hill. Snow is the other problem. In February 2023 a blizzard put at least 45 inches on Big Bear in 72 hours. You can't flow test a buried hydrant. For mountain properties, plan the annual test for a month when the hydrant is easy to reach. Our Big Bear Lake hydrant testing page has more on mountain sites.

Who does the work

California work for 1 Pro Fire is done by Hedrick Fire Protection. Hedrick holds C-16 fire protection and C-10 electrical contractor licenses, and the California State Fire Marshal licenses it under Title 19 for inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems. A failed hydrant doesn't always need replacing. Read how a Carlsbad hydrant facing a $10,000 replacement quote was checked for repair first.

Send us the address, the number of hydrants on the main and the water agency on your bill. Call (909) 219-9411 or email socal@1profire.com.

Hydrant testing questions

Do I have to test the hydrant out on the street?

Usually not. A hydrant the water utility owns is the utility's to maintain. NFPA 25 covers hydrants on a private fire service main, the piping on your side of the connection.

How often does a private hydrant need testing?

Once a year. NFPA 25 calls for an annual flow test and inspection of each private hydrant.

My site is in Rancho Cucamonga. Does County Fire inspect it?

Probably not. Rancho Cucamonga has its own fire district with its own Fire Marshal and Prevention Bureau. Ask that office which hydrant records it wants for your property.

Why does the bonnet color matter?

Color shows flow class. Fire crews read it on arrival to judge how much water a hydrant can supply before they hook up a line, so paint that doesn't match the latest test sends them the wrong way.

Related services and nearby areas

Get an Annual Fire Hydrant Testing Quote in San Bernardino County

  • Annual NFPA 25 flow test and inspection
  • Bonnet color checked against NFPA 291 flow class
  • Drain checks on dry-barrel hydrants in freezing areas
(909) 219-9411 or socal@1profire.com

Tell us your city and we'll start from there.