Why Use Fire Engine for Bldg FDC that has Pump?

1/1/2025

Operationally, why would a fire department with a 1,500 gpm pump on a fire engine connect to a building FDC that has a 1,750 gpm pump?

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6 Comments

Jon N

1/1/2025 08:26:52 am

Operationally, fire departments have a higher comfort level with their own apparatus' pumps than with stationary fire pumps inside a building:
1. They typically test their apparatus pumps annually.
2. They know how to operate (and shut-down) their pumps.
3. They can adjust the pressure as needed (up or down) - especially for standpipe operations.
4. They know where their pump is (on their truck) as opposed to having to try and find it in the building.
5. They have redundancy as they are likely bringing multiple fire pumps to the incident.

Franck

1/1/2025 09:09:43 am

1. if the pump fails or is impaired
2. if more sprinklers than expected are in operation (change of hazard within the building for example).

Chad

1/1/2025 09:45:24 am

As John said…. Murphys Law. Pumps fail.

Andrew

1/1/2025 12:41:25 pm

It does seems counterintuitive at first, but something to consider is if a low rise fire (>150 PSI) is at a point where the sprinklers have failed to gain control before the FD pulled up, it's likely that either something in the system failed, or it was started catastrophically and is simply beyond the design of the building's system. Setting any system up with a 1500 gpm @ 150 psi pump is just a cheap insurance policy anyway and almost guaranteed to have a superior curve to whatever's in the building

In a high rise where inlet pressures get excessive, a lot of SOPs will instruct the men to set the pump at 50 or so pounds below system pressure ("starting pressure"). The FDC check, which is probably near the pump discharge, will keep shut, while a small hose is tied down for pump cooling. If they call for more standpipe pressure or the engineer notices the engine is flowing water, they can simply dial up the pressure.

Dan Wilder

1/1/2025 05:31:17 pm

Resource deployment for any SaR and internal fire attack will rely on a stable, controllable, and monitored water supply. Placing someone into the building to monitor if a fire pump is ON or OFF (if it's even accessible from the exterior safely) without any means to change variables like pressure is a waste and adds an additional point to monitor for Incident Command, notwithstanding the potential need to change out SCBA and personnel further adding to a complex situation.

Jack G

1/1/2025 05:32:08 pm

From what I ve witnessed, one of the fire departments initial moves is to shut off the electric to the building, whether it’s pulling the meter on a house or shutting down the power to a high rise, to avoid electrocutions.

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Why Use Fire Engine for Bldg FDC that has Pump?

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