Dry Riser Cabinets

Dry Risers are an essential part of effective fire suppression systems, especially for multi-storey buildings and larger properties in general. There are dry riser inlet and outlet valves; inlets are on the outside of the building, and the fire brigade will connect to them to ‘set up’ a pressurised water supply that can then be accessed from any outlet, one of which should be on every floor of your building. Keeping the valves safe and secure is what the cabinets are for, and is arguably just as vital of a role.

These are vital in large building fires as they directly provide the fire brigade with a convenient means of tackling the fire on any floor. This removes the need to carry full-length hosing up the stairs and then possibly having to wait for the water to travel all the way up it; this all reduces the time taken to respond to an emergency. We stock a range of cabinets for both kinds that are sturdy and compact and make sure that accessibility and visibility of your dry riser valves are maintained throughout a fire emergency.

We also offer a variety of accessories and supplements for your dry riser cabinets, such as replacement glass, labels, and security doors and locks.

What’s the difference between inlet and outlet cabinets?

Nothing specific! The cabinets are all the same in terms of dimensions; at least, there would be no difference between a vertical surface-mounted inlet cabinet and a vertical surface-mounted outlet cabinet. The only difference is the label they are supplied with, as this indicates the contents and should be taken seriously as the key identifier of the cabinet.

This does mean, however, that you can easily remove and replace the label with one of your choice – this is also an easy way to change a dry riser cabinet into a wet riser one, as there would be no difference in dimensions here either.

Recessed or surface-mounted?

These are the two main formats that our cabinets are available in. There is a third, which is the architrave & door frame configuration, but this is very similar to a recessed one. 

Surface-mounted is the simplest. It means the cabinet is fixed to the wall, so its entire body will be protruding from the surface. This makes it very easy to install wherever you need, and does help the cabinet stay even more prominent than usual. The only downside is that you will still need to strategise the placement of the cabinet, as it can pose as an obstruction in exit routes or densely populated rooms and corridors.

Recessed cabinets are usually preferable if your property allows for it. They sit within a wall recess, meaning they are physically seamless with the wall. Luckily, the cabinets are designed to stand out even when installed like this, and you won’t have to worry about it being an obstacle. They are, of course, complicated by the nature of their installation, as you either need to make the effort of a more full-on refurbishment to create a wall recess, or have the cabinet installed during construction of your property.