Fire Hydrant Installations in Van Nuys

Start with LAFD plan check

Van Nuys isn't its own city. It's a neighborhood of Los Angeles, so a new private hydrant here goes through the Los Angeles Fire Department and not LA County Fire. Plan check and clearance requests are submitted through the FIMS Customer Portal at inspect.lafd.org.

LAFD Fire Development Services also has a Van Nuys office at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., 2nd Floor. Visits are by appointment only. Questions about plan check or Fire & Life Safety Inspection Clearances in the Valley go to the Fire Prevention Bureau Valley Public Safety Unit at 818-374-1110, and that call is a good time to ask which fire code edition your drawings should follow. Confirm the edition before plans are final.

What the installation involves

A private hydrant is one part of a private fire service main. NFPA 24 covers those mains and the parts attached to them, so the hydrant, the underground pipe that feeds it and its control valves get designed and built as one system. We build from the approved plans.

• Lay out the pipe route from the point of connection to the hydrant location shown on the plans.
• Trench, set the pipe, and install the hydrant, valves and fittings.
• Pressure test and flush the new main before it goes into service.
• Flow test the hydrant under NFPA 291, which also sets the bonnet color code for flow class.

The water side is LADWP

LADWP supplies water in Van Nuys. An LADWP service letter for a project on Van Nuys Boulevard says water service there is provided under LADWP's Rules Governing Water and Electric Service. Need a new connection to the public supply? Read those rules early. They can affect your schedule.

Once it's in the ground

New hydrants still need yearly care. Under NFPA 25, private fire hydrants are flow tested and inspected every year, so put the first annual fire hydrant testing in Van Nuys on the calendar as soon as the hydrant is in service. Between tests, see fire hydrant maintenance or fire hydrant repair in Van Nuys. Will the same main feed a new building system? Our Van Nuys fire sprinkler installation page covers that side.

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. Van Nuys is in our service area. Working elsewhere in the region? See fire hydrant installations in Los Angeles County or fire hydrant installations in Orange County, or go back to the Van Nuys fire protection hub.

To plan a hydrant installation in Van Nuys, call (213) 568-0188 or email socal@1profire.com. Include the address. Tell us where your plans stand.

Questions before you install

Which fire department handles my hydrant plans?

The Los Angeles Fire Department. Van Nuys is part of the City of Los Angeles, and plan check requests go through LAFD's FIMS Customer Portal at inspect.lafd.org.

Do you come look at the site, or should I send photos first?

Send what you have. Site plans and photos of the hydrant location help us scope the job, and we'll talk with you about whether a site walk makes sense before pricing it.

How soon can you start?

It depends on your plans. Installation usually waits on approved drawings, so the earlier your plans go into LAFD plan check, the sooner the work can go on the schedule.

Does a new hydrant need testing after it's installed?

Yes. NFPA 25 calls for private hydrants to be flow tested and inspected every year.