Book Your FY27 Testing: Hose, Ladder, Pump and Hydrant Work

If your department's new fiscal year started October 1 and your budget covers hose, ladder, pump or hydrant testing, this is a useful time to turn the approved budget into a defined service request. Departments with another fiscal calendar can use the same inventory-first approach.

This guide is for chiefs and officers booking this year's testing with SEMS. It covers what to list, which services to ask about combining on one visit, and how retaining the request and reports gives next year a useful starting point.

Quick answer: how to book FY27 testing with SEMS

Call the SEMS office at (251) 282-0958 or email semsfire@gmail.com and include:

1. Which tests are due: hose, ground ladder, apparatus pump, hydrant flow testing, hydrant painting.
2. Your inventory: hose count by size, ladders by type, apparatus with pumps, hydrant count.
3. Your last reports, if you have them.
4. The services you want the office to consider for the same visit.
5. Dates that do not work for your department.

The office confirms what it can perform, the scope, a quote, and scheduling. Combining services depends on inventory, apparatus availability and crew needs; the office will say what fits.

Start with what is due

Pull last year's reports and make one list. If a date is missing, mark it unknown rather than guessing. If a test is already past due, identify it clearly in the request and ask about current availability. Follow department procedures for the affected equipment while the request is reviewed.

Our October 1 fiscal year testing plan covers turning that list into a budget line if you are still finishing that step.

Ask which services can share a visit

Departments often ask whether related tests can share a trip. Common pairings to ask about:

• Hose and ground ladder testing. Both are annual and often come off the same apparatus. Our article on hose and ladder testing on the same visit explains how that request works.
• Hose, ladder and pump testing. If your apparatus pump test is due in the same window, ask whether it can be scoped into the same trip. Pump testing and preventative maintenance are listed on the public services page.
• Hydrant flow testing and painting. Ask about testing first and painting to the result. See the live hydrant GPS mapping, flow testing and painting program overview.

What can be combined depends on your inventory, apparatus availability and the crew size each service needs. The office will tell you what fits. Any combined scope, pricing and scheduling arrangements need office confirmation.

Ask about a recurring schedule

Keep next year's planning date in the department calendar. Ask the SEMS office whether it offers a recurring arrangement suited to your department and what confirmation is required. No standing recurring program or automatic booking is asserted here.

Keep the reports together

After each visit, file every report in one place with the open recommendations listed on top. That file is next year's starting point and the backup for next year's budget request.

Questions departments ask

We are overdue. Is it too late to book?

Tell the office what is past due and ask for current availability. Follow department procedures for overdue equipment; a request does not establish that continued use is acceptable.

Can you test hose and ladders on more than one station in one trip?

List each station and its inventory; the office will confirm how the visit is planned.

Do we have to book everything at once?

No. Book what is due now and ask about the rest.

Get your FY27 testing on the calendar

Email semsfire@gmail.com or call (251) 282-0958 with what is due and which services you want considered together. Public contacts: SEMS team page.