Ground Floor Standpipe Hose Connection Req'd?

8/30/2023

Regarding: IFC 905.4 Location of Class I standpipe hose connections.

Class I standpipe hose connections shall be provided in all of the following locations: 1.in every required interior exit stairway, a hose connection shall be provided for each story above and below grade plane,. Hose connections shall be located at the main floor landing unless otherwise approved by the fire code official.

Does this mean a standpipe connection is not needed at the ground floor?

I've brought this up to numerous design/build sprinkler subs and they all say a connection is required at the ground floor.

Thanks in advance.

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13 Comments

Josh

8/30/2023 08:06:33 am

Yes, and you got the code section right.

Think about it outside the box of the work you do. If a firefighter comes in at the ground floor, he wants to hook in immediately there to get ground level coverage. Back in older versions of code, the intermediate landings gave them options to go up and down from one location. I am glad they switched to floor landings now.

Andrew

8/31/2023 10:20:51 pm

I think code specifying main or intermediate landing is irrelevant because every fire department will have their own preference regardless of what the book says. For example, in San Antonio, only intermediate landing connections are allowed.

Besides, a fire department would NEVER use a ground floor hose connection. Nor the second, and possibly not the third (for the floor above) depending on the total height of the building.

Remember the standard preconnect is 200' and pulling that off a truck is many times quicker than operating a standpipe.

Jesse

8/30/2023 08:10:49 am

Agree with Josh, but urge you to check with your AHJ. Even after the last iteration of IBC, our largest AHJ amended the code to go back to intermediate landings.

Casey Milhorn

8/30/2023 08:12:13 am

Interesting question. You could definitely take it that way from the code section. I've never been a fire fighter, but around the industry long enough to say I would want one available to me on the ground accessible level, especially if the main level is accessible through this stairwell, which most are. I have left them out on stairwell levels where there was no access to that level and have never had an issue with a code official wanting them installed. I always try and think about what I would want if I were a fire fighter, and that has served me pretty well on making decisions when you get into some funky stairwell layouts.

Dan Wilder

8/30/2023 08:41:54 am

I think the term "Ground Plane" is being intermixed with "Ground Level"..

The Ground Level/First Floor is required to have a hose valve as it is technically a "Story" above the "Grade Plane".

Chapter 2

**GRADE PLANE. A reference plane representing the average of finished ground level adjoining the building at exterior walls. Where the finished ground level slopes away from the exterior walls, the reference plane shall be established by the lowest points within the area between the building and the lot line or, where the lot line is more than 6 feet (1829 mm) from the building, between the building and a point 6 feet (1829 mm) from the building.

**STORY. That portion of a building included between the upper surface of a floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof next above (see “Basement,” “Building height,” “Grade plane” and “Mezzanine”). A story is measured as the vertical distance from top to top of two successive tiers of beams or finished floor surfaces and, for the topmost story, from the top of the floor finish to the top of the ceiling joists or, where there is not a ceiling, to the top of the roof rafters.

**STORY ABOVE GRADE PLANE. Any story having its finished floor surface entirely above grade plane, or in which the finished surface of the floor next above is:

1.More than 6 feet (1829 mm) above grade plane; or

2.More than 12 feet (3658 mm) above the finished ground level at any point.

**BASEMENT. A story that is not a story above grade plane.

Christopher Hallock

8/30/2023 09:29:44 am

This is the best and correct answer.

8/31/2023 07:12:20 am

Agreed.

Glenn Berger

8/30/2023 09:23:40 am

I would not say - yes or no without seeing the specific building layout. The option resides with the Fire Code Official, not the Designer of Record.

Mark

8/30/2023 11:06:20 am

I had an experience that both the fire marshal and the plan reviewer require to install hose valves in the stair landings on all levels and no hose valves on the ground floor unless the hose valve on the first landings are over 150 feet apart measured along the path of travel. I asked them the same question about the same code section. Both of them told me that their fire fighters will hook up the hoses to their fire trucks and bring the water charged hoses into the building to cover the ground floor. All hose valves shall be located on the landing with the hose valve outlet facing to the stairs going up. This city is located in the silicon valley.

SCHULMAN

8/30/2023 02:27:02 pm

creates a trip hazard for the incoming firefighters when connected at the GROUND floor and mid-level connection allows access to the ground floor - maybe old fashioned ...

Colin Lusher

8/30/2023 03:27:48 pm

The ground floor is indeed the first story above the grade plane. So yes, a ground floor hose connection is required.

Ivan J. Humberson

9/1/2023 09:11:01 am

As a former AHJ and a former volunteer firefighter, I would always require a hose connection at every floor level, regardless of the level of the grade plane adjacent to the building. This allows the arriving firefighting personnel to connect to the FDC, and operate from the standpipe without having to ascertain if the fire is on the ground floor or a floor above or below the ground floor. Otherwise, the firefighting personnel would have to stretch preconnected attack lines AND stretch hose to connect to the FDC. If the building has hose outlets for every floor (including the "ground floor"), the firefighting personnel can connect to the FDC, then ascertain which hose valve in the stairwell will be the best to connect their standpipe pack to, in order to initiate an attack on the fire.

Christopher Anderson link

9/6/2023 12:03:42 pm

There are the code requirements for the placement of FHVs (IBC, NFPA, NBC, etc.) that need to be adhered to first and foremost. Then there are the practicality issues.

The FHVs are installed to serve the FD should they need it. The FHVs should be installed on the main (or intermediate) landings, as required by code, and where there is access to floor area. The FD should always pass an FHV before entering a floor area.

If the stair in the original question only has access to the L2 or the P1 level; having an FHV on L1 could be viewed as redundant. The FD would presumably pass another FHV prior to having access to L2 or P1 floor areas.

Conversely, if the L1 stair discharge has a door that permits entry into the L1 floor area, an FHV should be provided.

My $0.02...

Ground Floor Standpipe Hose Connection Req'd?

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