5/2/2018 All FMs need to know about standpipes for fire fighting - FMLink

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All FMs need to know about standpipes for fire fighting

When there’s a fire, firefighters connect hoses to standpipe hose connections for wate
fight the fire. In effect, a standpipe system provides fire hydrants throughout a buildin
use. So that’s what it does. But what is a standpipe?

A standpipe is a series of pipes that connect a water supply to hose valves located in th
distributes water from the main supply source to a hose outlet or an automatic sprink
Standpipe systems ensure a fixed and permanent means of moving water for fire fight
water supply to all portions of the building. In buildings with sprinklers, standpipe sy
important backup systems that firefighters can use to extinguish that portion of a fire
by sprinklers. The applicable standard in the United States is NFPA 14: Installation o
Hose Systems.

Standpipe Classi cations

Standpipes are classified in NFPA 14 into the following three groups on the basis of h

Class I: Provided with 2½-inch hose stations and intended primarily for use b
department personnel and not by building occupants.
Class II: Provided with 1½-inch hose stations and intended for use by buildin
well as by fire department personnel.

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5/2/2018 All FMs need to know about standpipes for fire fighting - FMLink

Class III: Provided with 1½-inch and 2½-inch hose stations and intended for
occupants as well as by fire department personnel.

But it’s not that simple. In addition to the three classifications, there are five types of
Any one of these five types can be applied to each of the three NFPA classifications. T
systems are:

Automatic dry: Contains air under pressure. Opening a hose valve releases
automatically admits water into the standpipe system.
Manual dry: Contains air, but does not have an automatic water supply. Fir
pumpers add water to the system.
Semiautomatic dry: Requires someone to activate a remote control device m
admit water into the standpipe system.
Automatic wet: Retains water in the piping at all times and is capable of aut
supplying the correct water pressure and flow.
Manual wet: Retains water in the piping at all times, but is not capable of pr
adequate pressure and flow. The fire department must use its pumpers to augm
supply.

Standpipe system piping can also supply a sprinkler system. This type of system is cal
standpipe and sprinkler system. With its higher water-supply demand, a combined st
sprinkler system requires an automatic water supply. This demand should be measur
pressure and the flow requirements of either the standpipe system or the sprinkler sy
systems simultaneously.

Where Standpipes Need to Be

The need for a standpipe system is typically based on the height of the building, but th
is also a determining factor. Standpipe systems are provided in all buildings in which
the highest story is more than 30 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicl
local codes are more stringent.) Standpipe connections are typically located on each f
exit stairway. Where standpipes are installed in buildings more than six stories or 75
one riser should extend through the roof and terminate in a two-way, 2½-inch hose c

The method used by designers in the past to locate a standpipe system was to make al
floor reachable by 100 feet of hose and a 30-foot water stream. This method of placem
changed so that standpipes are now installed in exit stairs, with additional standpipes
according to a specified travel distance to the next standpipe.

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The new method was adopted because exit stairs are located according to a standard m
distance to an approved exit. In addition, fire department standard operating procedu
firefighters to use the exit-stair enclosure as a path to reach the fire floor and as a hav
fight the fire.

Another reason for installing standpipes in exit stairways is to protect the system. Pip
system should not pass through hazardous areas and should be located to be protecte
fire damage. Exit stairs provide this type of location.

Standpipe Specs

Supply piping should be sized to provide a minimum flow of 500 US gallons per minu
first riser, and 250 gpm for each additional riser up to a total of 2,500 gpm. Standpip
sized to maintain a minimum of 65 psi of residual pressure at the highest hose connec
minimum flow of 500 gpm.

The location of valves should permit the isolation of one standpipe without interrupti
standpipes. All main and sectional control valves should be clearly labeled with signs
portion of the system that they control.

In high-rise buildings, the NFPA requires that hose valves have an approved pressure
to limit the pressure of water discharged from the standpipe system. A standpipe with
occupant-use hose connections must have a pressure-regulating device when:

(a) the residual pressure on its outlet exceeds 100 psi; and
(b) the static pressure on its outlet exceeds 175 psi.

The pressure regulating device limits the static and residual pressure to 100 psi.

Standpipes with 2½-inch hose connections must have pressure regulating devices wh
pressure exceeds 175 psi. Such devices are intended to limit the static and residual pre
than 175 psi.

Hose connections should be 2½ inches in diameter, have threads compatible with loc
equipment, and be located not less than 3 feet and not more than 5 feet above the fini

When risers supply both standpipe systems and sprinkler systems, an indicating cont
outside screw and yoke valve-should be provided at the sprinkler system connection t
sprinkler system for maintenance without disabling the standpipe system. With an ou
yoke, the threaded stem (screw), the yoke through which it extends, and the valve wh
the stem are all exposed so that the opened and closed positions of the valve can be vi
Most authorities require these valves to be electronically monitored in the open positi
if not monitored to prevent them from being closed or left in a closed position.
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5/2/2018 All FMs need to know about standpipes for fire fighting - FMLink

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