The fire hose reel (RIA): inspection and tracking

The fire hose reel, or RIA in French, is a first-response means found in many public-access buildings, industrial sites and car parks. Unlike an extinguisher, it offers a continuous water supply, which allows longer action on a fire. It still needs to be accessible, signed and regularly inspected to be truly operational when the moment comes.

What a fire hose reel is

A fire hose reel is a fixed station made up of an axially-fed reel, a semi-rigid hose and a shut-off nozzle to adjust the jet. It is permanently connected to a pressurised water network, which sets it apart from other fire hoses. It is designated by its nominal diameter: DN 19, DN 25 or DN 33, chosen according to the level of risk to cover. It is simple to operate and can be handled by a single person, which makes it well suited to a first response before the emergency services arrive.

Where fire hose reels are found

Fire hose reels frequently equip large public-access buildings, industrial buildings and classified installations, warehouses, covered car parks and some high-rise buildings. They are often required in addition to extinguishers where the fire load or the layout of the premises justifies it. Their siting aims to ensure that no point of the area to protect is out of reach of a jet.

Inspection duties

Fire hose reel servicing is based on the NF EN 671-3 standard. It distinguishes a thorough annual inspection, carried out by a competent person, and more frequent intermediate checks, often quarterly, covering apparent condition and accessibility. The annual inspection includes a functional test: unrolling the hose, charging with water, checking pressure and flow at the nozzle.

As with extinguishers, these inspections must be logged and dated, and recorded in the building's fire safety register.

What is checked during the inspection

• the accessibility of the station and the legibility of its signage;
• the condition of the semi-rigid hose, the reel and the shut-off nozzle;
• the pressure available at the valve and the absence of leaks on the network;
• the proper unrolling of the hose and the operation of the nozzle during the test;
• the condition of the fittings, seals and supply valve.

Reel and extinguisher: two complementary means

A fire hose reel and an extinguisher do not compete, they complement each other. The extinguisher is mobile, immediately available and suited to a localised outbreak, but its capacity is limited to a few seconds of use. The reel, fixed, offers a continuous water supply and allows longer action, on a more developed fire, without worrying about recharging. In the same building, each answers a different scenario, which is why the regulations often require reels in addition to extinguishers, never in their place. Tracking their inspections is therefore best thought through together, in a single inventory.

Day-to-day watch points

Between two inspections, the most common problems are less about mechanics than about the station's environment: a reel made inaccessible by storage, a blocked cabinet, a hidden sign, or a supply valve closed by mistake after works. A regular visual check, built into rounds, is often enough to spot these situations before they become critical. It is exactly the kind of light check that gets put off when it relies on a paper logbook, and gets done when it is built into the field tool already in use.

Flow, pressure and siting

A fire hose reel is only effective if the network feeding it delivers enough pressure and flow at the nozzle, including when several stations are used at once. This is one of the points checked during the annual test, since an ageing or modified network may no longer hold the expected values. Siting matters just as much: stations are spread so that no area to protect stays out of reach of a jet, near exits and circulation routes, never behind an obstacle. Any change to the premises, partitioning or refit, should prompt a recheck that this coverage still holds.

Traceability of checks

The difficulty is not checking a fire hose reel, but proving that the whole fleet has been checked, at the right deadlines. A site with dozens of stations needs a clear inventory: location, diameter, date of the last test, next deadline and the results of the latest checks. That overview is also what lets you anticipate replacements rather than suffer them.

Track your fire hose reels with KARTES

KARTES Fire safety locates every fire hose reel on the site map, with its record, its deadlines and the history of its inspections. Checks are recorded in the field, photo in hand, even offline. You track upcoming deadlines, keep proof of every test, and export the state of the fleet for the safety commission or your insurer. Visual-check rounds fit into the same tool, closing the loop between daily work and the annual inspection.

Key points

• The fire hose reel is a first-response means with a continuous water supply, designated by its diameter (DN 19, 25, 33).
• Servicing under NF EN 671-3: an annual inspection with a test, and regular intermediate checks.
• Accessibility, signage, pressure, hose and fitting condition are the key points.
• Inspections are logged in the fire safety register.
• A geolocated inventory secures deadlines and proof of checks.