TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter describes the basic fire protection water distribution system components and reviews the key points of NFPA 24, Standard for the Installation of Private Fire Service Mains and Their Appurtenances.
References required for this chapter are:
NFPA 24
NFPA Fire Protection Handbook
A reference helpful for study of inspection, maintenance and testing requirements is:
NFPA 25
Distribution piping for fire protection service consists primarily of buried piping systems, although some contain sections of exposed piping. These systems link fire protection water supplies to fire protection outlets, such as hydrants or fire suppression systems. This chapter will examine the performance and reliability issues involved in designing or evaluating water distribution systems. Key topics include system definition and configuration, type and location of system outlets, hydraulic requirements, calculation of hydraulic adequacy, system components, maintenance of system pressure boundary integrity and prevention of flow blockage.
Fire protection water distribution systems vary greatly in size and complexity. To a municipal fire protection engineer, the system may be a city-wide fire water supply system. To an industrial fire protection engineer, it may represent a complex system of yard piping connecting multiple water sources to hydrants and building fire suppression systems. To a sprinkler designer, it may consist merely of a few dozen feet of underground piping between the municipal water connection and the building sprinkler system. In each case, the determining factor is that the piping serves a fire protection function and is under the control of...
