For a fire department connection that is remote (freestanding) from the building, what is the minimum distance between the building and the remote fire department connection?
I've seen some authors recommend a distance equal to the building height, but others recommend half the building height. Is there a code or standard reference that indicates this? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
15 Comments
Alex
1/11/2022 07:42:14 am
Hi,
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Anthony
1/11/2022 08:13:22 am
Requirements are vague for this kind of this I think by design so as to give an AHJ as much flexibility as possible. Defiantly call a fire official for guidance on their preferences as they can vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
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Todd Wyatt
1/11/2022 08:16:48 am
Per IBC (the scoping Code) FDC shall comply with Section 912. 912.2 Location ststes FDC shall be "so located that fire apparatus and hose connected to supply the ssystem will not obstruct access to the building for other fire apparatus. The location of FDC shall be approved by the fire code official." 912.2 goes on to identify visibility requirements (912.2.1) and FDC signage on existing building where visbility is an issue. The IBC does not include prescriptive requirements regarding building height and FDC locations but it does include access requirements per 912.34 Access. (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2021P1/chapter-9-fire-protection-and-life-safety-systems#IBC2021P1_Ch09_Sec912)
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Wes
1/11/2022 08:19:19 am
One of the reasons that a remote (freestanding) FDC is beneficial to firefighters is that it is distanced from the building, which protects firefighters from the radiant heat from the building but also keeps the FDC outside of the building collapse zone.
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Wes
1/11/2022 08:21:12 am
I'm not a fan of remote FDCs myself - they introduce a much higher potential for corrosion, freeze-ups, can get run over by vehicles, and are more expensive. But when jurisdictions have required them, that's the reasoning that I typically hear behind their use.
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Wes
1/11/2022 08:22:22 am
... and that's 1.5 x the building height, "away from the building". So a 20-ft tall building exterior wall would require the FDC to be 30-ft away from the building.
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JH
1/11/2022 08:30:24 am
The remote FDC must be located on the same side of the fire lane as the nearest fire hydrant to prevent obstruction of the fire lane by fire hoses. (NFPA 1:18.2.4.1, NFPA 24:5.9.5.2)
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Dan Wilder
1/11/2022 08:56:07 am
The "collapse zone" is defined as 1.5X where X is the wall height so anything within this zone is subject to impact from debris and should be avoided if possible.
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Wes
1/11/2022 09:01:08 am
Agreed Dan. Where I've seen the 1.5x required, it has been written-into the project by RFP writers who were aware of their department needs. It has not come from model codes or standards.
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Glenn Berger
1/11/2022 11:25:28 am
Back to the original question - I am not aware of any published requirement that provides a minimum (or maximum) distance from a building wall to a remote FDC.
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John Culpepper
1/12/2022 02:53:01 pm
I am in the Fire Department and one of my City’s Site Plan Reviewers. In my city there are City Utility Guides Lines which says the "Siamese connections must be located within 50 feet of a dedicated hydrant." This is more stringent than the Fire Code, so I go by that guideline. It also says, "The dedicated hydrant is not credited toward external protection requirements." The 50' distance works good for commercial and residential sprinkler systems in my city because the only thing the Fire Codes talk about is the 100' distance for building with standpipe systems but nothing about buildings without standpipe systems. These two distances allow me to give the designer an extra couple of feet depending on the circumstances. If there is plenty of room around the building being constructed, I ask for a remote FDC and if building is in part of the city with no room or open area, a wall mount will do. The remote FDC keeps crews from hooking right at the building wall and helps protect the firefighters. If there is a collapse, it’s not going to make much of a difference because if you are using a wall mount and/or a remote FDC in the collapse zone it will probably be damaged or blocked. There are many locations you cannot put an FDC far enough from the building. I try and keep it far enough from the building when I can. The whole idea is to keep the FDC close to the fire hydrant.
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Rob Neale
1/13/2022 08:06:21 am
Just a few thoughts:
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John Culpepper
1/13/2022 08:57:22 am
I agree with what you say, the remote protects apparatus and firefighters. Being a Fire Inspector, it is out job to confirm the fire codes are met during annual inspections and part of that is to confirm that the fire protection system has been inspected and passed all required inspections; it shall be maintained.
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Theresa Z
2/27/2023 11:26:36 pm
Is it an acceptable practice to access the fire hydrant directly across a semi-rural 2-lane 45mph roadway when the building is a mere 84ft from the hydrant?
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JH
3/9/2023 07:43:30 am
The answer has to do with traffic management. How many trips per day? Based on your info, I would say it's probably fine. Check your JD's P&Z requirements as well as the adopted fire code requirements.
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