Are Multiple FDCs Allowed on One Building?

3/12/2020

Hi there, just reviewing NFPA 13 for the number of Fire Department Connections allowed on any one building.

I see NFPA 13 16.12.5.6 indicates that sign is required if an FDC only serves a portion of the building. Does it state that only one FDC per building is allowed, or can you have multiple FDC's on one building? Thank you.

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12 Comments

Wayne Ammons

3/12/2020 09:21:07 am

NFPA 13 (2019 Edition) does not state only one FDC per building is allowed, but your local fire or building code may require multiple FDC's to be interconnected.

Section 16.12.5.4 states "For multiple systems, the fire department connection shall be connected between the supply control valves and the system control valves.".

Section 16.12.5.6 states "Where a fire department connection services only a portion of a building, a sign shall be attached indicating the portions of the building served.".

There are numerous options to locating and configuring FDC's, but the sections I referenced, to me, imply that where multiple system risers are supplied from a single underground supply and an FDC is to be located at that location, the connection shall be such that the FDC supplies all systems. If there is another underground supply on the other end of the building serving one or more systems, an FDC can be located there as well, but both FDC's would require a sign indicating the systems and areas they serve. It is not good practice to have multiple FDC's on a single building as it can lead to confusion and/or incorrect connection by the fire department in the event of a fire.

Darrell

3/12/2020 10:13:10 am

We have a large high school in our area that is split into 4 zones. There is a riser room with an FDC at opposite corners of the school. Each riser room supports 2 of the zones for the school. Each riser room has its own underground water supply.

A fire department needs to preplan the buildings in their response area to understand which FDCs support certain areas of a building.

Casey Milhorn

3/12/2020 10:41:46 am

In some cases (2) FDCs are actually required. So I couldn't imagine anywhere that it would state that multiple FDCs aren't allowed.

CJ Bonczyk

3/12/2020 10:53:11 am

Wayne is correct. In some jurisdictions here in Texas the fire marshal may have 3-4 FDC's feeding the same building due to accessibility and footprint of the building for the fire department. Sometimes its overkill but they are more concerned about making it easier for the responding departments to gain quicker hook up to the building systems. Those locations MUST be pre-located with the Architect/Engineer of record and the building owner prior to construction. Note that if multiple FDC's are installed they must have dedicated signs indicating the systems and or buildings they feed to avoid confusion by the fire department. In one instance I have had to install a separate FDC that pumped into a standalone helipad system and provide signage regarding pressure limitations from the pumper to not deplete the foam supply to the helipad too fast. I cannot stress enough that the location(s), size, style and quantity must be planned prior to documents being issued for construction as I have seen some very odd configurations and requests from various jurisdictions.

Randy

3/12/2020 11:07:12 am

If you have standpipes, NFPA 14 explicitly calls out 'one or more' fire department connections may be required

chris

3/12/2020 11:17:21 am

The size and number of FDC inlets shall be determined by the fire flow of the sprinkler system and/or standpipe system.Interior hose streams shall be included in the sprinkler demand for determining the number and size of inlets when standpipes and/or hose stations are part of the sprinkler system.

a - Any sprinkler system with a required water flow below 750gpm requires that the FDC be equipped with 2 2-1/2" female swiwel inlets.

b - Any sprinkler system with a required flow greater than 750gpm requires that the FDC be equipped with 4 2-1/2" female swivel inlets.

c - If the on-site water main supplies both the fire sprinkler system and the on-site fire hydrants, an FDC as noted in b above is required.

This is the standard in Ontario, but you can see where are they coming from.
If you have a huge fire system (see above) you can not help it much with only one set of inlets.

Michael Millman

3/12/2020 10:30:34 pm

Yes, it is possible to have more than one FDC on a building (and sometimes required by code, usually based on size/distance and use of the building).

Max

3/13/2020 05:54:34 am

I believe in the IBC multiple FDCs are required for high rises with exterior glazing. The reason is a historic fire saw glazing fall off the building and cut the hose lines to the single FDC.

nairn robertson

3/19/2020 08:19:16 am

My apologies for not being clear on the subject. It was not the size or number of hose connections located within an FDC that I was referring to. Thank you all for your input and support, stay healthy.

Scott Wyatt

8/17/2021 07:02:01 am

Glad I found this. In Philadelphia, our project has two street levels, with a single existing FDC on the lower level. Fire Marshall requested an additional on the upper level for faster response time.

Ruby Layak link

11/30/2021 04:25:10 am

Thanks for the feedback that you manage to work with given example.

AHJ

6/5/2023 11:56:12 am

Hello! I am looking for any guidance on whether or not I can require independently activated horn strobes above FDCs on buildings with multiple systems. I don't want both H/S to activate because I want responding crews to know exactly which system to connect to without wasting time. I saw NFPA 72 said you can have up to 5 WF switches on the same initiating circuit. It just makes sense to have crews know exactly where to connect as soon as they get on scene. Any help is appreciated! Also I know someone will say "You're the AHJ just require it" but I would prefer to find some sort of basis in code in order to ask for something like this. If it's not in code, then maybe that's something I can work on changing in the future. Thanks everyone!

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Are Multiple FDCs Allowed on One Building?

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