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?

Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe

7 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.

Ron F

1/27/2025 10:36:52 pm

As a former career Fire Service Officier this is the answer. SOP was to connect to FDC and supply at starting psi of 130

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.

Leave a Reply.

Home
Our Cause

The Blog
The Forum

PE Exam Prep
The Toolkit
MeyerFire University

Pricing
Login
Support
Contact Us

MeyerFire.com is a startup community built to help fire protection professionals shine.
Our goal is to improve fire protection practices worldwide. We promote the industry by creating helpful tools and resources, and by bringing together industry professionals to share their expertise.

MeyerFire, LLC is a NICET Recognized Training Provider and International Code Council Preferred Education Provider.
All text, images, and media Copyright © 2016-2025 MeyerFire, LLC

We respect your privacy and personal data. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The views, opinions, and information found on this site represent solely the author and do not represent the opinions of any other party, nor does the presented material assume responsibility for its use. Fire protection and life safety systems constitute a critical component for public health and safety and you should consult with a licensed professional for proper design and code adherence.

Discussions are solely for the purpose of peer review and the exchange of ideas. All comments are reviewed. Comments which do not contribute, are not relevant, are spam, or are disrespectful in nature may be removed. Information presented and opinions expressed should not be relied upon as a replacement for consulting services. Some (not all) outbound links on this website, such as Amazon links, are affiliate-based where we receive a small commission for orders placed elsewhere.

Why Use Fire Engine for Bldg FDC that has Pump?

Leave a Reply.

ALL-ACCESS

SUBSCRIBE

COMMUNITY

YOUR POST

PE EXAM

FILTERS

ARCHIVES

PE PREP SERIES