Down Comer System
Applicable Standards
Typical Applications
- Residential apartment buildings and housing societies
- Low-to-medium rise commercial premises
- Buildings below the wet riser height threshold
- Redevelopment projects retrofitting to current norms
- Institutional and hostel buildings
- Older societies restoring lapsed fire compliance
Sectors Served
A down comer system (also written downcomer) is a fire fighting installation fed by gravity from the terrace tank rather than pumped from ground level, with a descending riser serving landing valves and hose reels on each floor. Under NBC 2016 it is the accepted arrangement for many residential and low-to-medium rise buildings where a full wet riser is not mandated, and it is one of the most common systems in Maharashtra housing stock. Athens Buildcon designs, installs and certifies down comer systems end to end — terrace tank connection and capacity check, riser routing, landing valves, hose reels, first-aid hose cabinets, and the terrace-level booster pump where the topmost floor cannot achieve the required running pressure by gravity alone. We also retrofit and recommission neglected down comers in older societies, which is the single most common finding at a half-yearly inspection.
Key Features & Scope
- Gravity-fed riser from terrace static water tank
- Landing valves and first-aid hose reels on every floor
- Terrace booster pump where top-floor pressure is inadequate
- Hose cabinets with nozzles, branch pipes and couplings
- Terrace tank capacity assessment against occupancy and height
- Interconnection with the building's fire alarm and pump controls
- Pressure and flow testing with documented reports
- Retrofit and recommissioning of neglected society systems