Augmenting Fire Standpipe Systems

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Augmenting Fire Standpipe Systems
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Importance of

• To provide independent and redundant primary or
  secondary water supply.
• Floor outlets eliminate the need to stretch hose
  lines from the pumper to the upper floors or deep
  inside a larger area building.

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Principles

• To properly supply a standpipe system, the
  following principles are involved
• Nozzle pressure and friction loss in the attack
  line,
• Head pressure due to elevation,
• Friction loss in the system,
• Friction loss in the supply line from the pumper
  to the FDC.

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FD Operational Variations
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• Fire Department Variations
• Attack and Supply lines
• Some FDs use a smooth bore or a combination
  (fog straight stream) nozzle with 1 ½, 1 ¾,
  or 2 hose with lengths up to 150,
• Some FDs use 150-200 of 2 ½ hose with a
  smooth bore or a combination nozzle,
• Some FDs use a short length of 3 hose off the
  outlet, then connect a gated wye,

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Different strokes for different folks

• Some FDs use 50 of 2 ½ hose to a gated wye,
  supplying two 100 lengths of 1 ½ 2 hose with
  combination nozzles,
• One large metropolitan FD use 3 ½ hose with 3
  couplings to supply the FDC,
• Some FDs use LDH with Storz couplings to supply
  the FDC or as a temporary backup for the system,

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Storz Connections
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LDH used as replacement to system
Reasons for use 1.Damaged, inoperable or
defective standpipe system. 2. Pressure
Restricting Valves or Pressure Reducing Valves
(PRVs) that cannot be overridden. 3. Heavy
volume of fire requiring greater fire flow.
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Hypothetical Situation
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Scenario

• Fire is on the eighth floor of a high rise.
• For the purpose of this presentation, we will
  assume the use of 200 of 2 ½ hose for the
  attack line, with a 1 1/8 smooth bore nozzle.
• Supply to the FDC is two individual 50 lengths
  of 2 ½ hose.

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Hydraulics
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• Attack Line using a Smooth Bore 1 1/8 nozzle
  with 50 psi nozzle pressure.

• Formula GPM 29.7(D2)Sqrt of the Nozzle
  Pressure.
• 29.71.2656527.0710678 265.8 (266 GPM)

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• Friction loss in attack line of 200 of 2 ½
  hose
• Formula per 100 FL CQ2 / 10000
• 2 2662 /10000 14.1512 2 28.3024
• Friction Loss 200 2 ½ hose 28 psi

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• Elevation (head pressure)
• 5 psi per floor 8 floors
• Elevation 40 psi.

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• Friction loss in the standpipe system
• Friction loss in system 25 psi.

Note With the various size of riser pipes, (4,
5, 6) it is a generally accepted practice to
use 25 psi friction loss in the system to make it
easier to calculate desired engine pump pressure.
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• Friction loss in two individual 50 lengths of 2
  ½ hose supply line
• Formula per 50 FL CQ2 / 2 / 10000
• 2 133/2/10000 1.7689
• Friction Loss in Supply line 2 psi

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Calculations

• Nozzle Pressure (50 psi nozzle) 50 psi
• Friction loss in attack line 28 psi
• Elevation 40 psi
• Friction loss in standpipe system 25 psi
• Friction loss in supply line 2 psi
• Total 145 psi

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• Engine Pump Pressure 145 psi

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General Operations
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• To ensure adequate water
• Supply the system from two pumpers, if possible,
• If the system has interconnected standpipe FDC,
  supply them both,
• If only one FDC present, supply 1st floor hose
  outlet with additional line,
• If building is equipped with a separate
  sprinkler and a standpipe system FDC, supply the
  standpipe first.

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Supply the Standpipe 1st
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• If the standpipe is equipped with
  pressure-reducing hose valves, the valve acts as
  a check valve, prohibiting pumping
• into the system when the valve is open,
• A supplementary single-inlet FDC or hose valve
  with female threads at an accessible location on
  the standpipe allows pumping into that system.

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Operations
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• Engine Co. Chauffer
• Test the hydrant before connecting, let Engine
  Officer and/or IC, know if the hydrant is not
  operational, thereby causing a delay in supply,
• Try to keep supply line to FDC not more than 100
  feet,
• Remove kinks and sharp bends,
• Supply the FDC with the largest available hose,
• Increase pump pressure slowly to avoid pressure
  surges at the nozzle.

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• Use at least two supply lines to FDC if
• more than one attack line being used from the
  standpipe or,
• indications from attack crew not enough water
  volume or pressure.
• Use the floor outlet(s) to supply the system if
• leak in the piping at any point below grade
  allowing water to drain off,
• foreign matter pushed in the FDC,
• FDC inoperative.

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FD Connection
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FDC

• Safety consideration
• Do not put your hands in the FDC to clear debris
  out, because it may have the presence of
• broken glass,
• sharp metal,
• used drug needles.

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Cans, bottles, balls, metals and drug needles
have been shoved into FDC
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• Difficulties may be encountered with FD
  connections.
• These difficulties may include
• missing caps,
• defective or incompatible threads,
• debris stuffed into the connection,
• tight caps,
• female swivels out-of-round,
• frozen female swivels,
• and clappers either broken or jammed open.

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• Many FDCs are equipped with either metallic or
  plastic vandal proof caps,
• these caps are usually attached with screw eyes
  placed over the pin lugs on the female swivel,
• both metal and plastic caps are removed by
  striking the center of the cap with a tool,
• caps can also be removed by prying one of the
  screw eyes off the pin lug.

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• Some FDs use security caps, responding via
  mutual aid, without the key, you will not be able
  to remove the cap..

• therefore, you will have to supply the system
  through floor outlets.

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• Knox registered FD s should request extra keys
  for their mutual aid departments

FDC Plug
Key
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Summary

• Test hydrant before committing,
• Use largest adaptable hose to supply system,
• Dont put your hands into FDC,
• If FDC is inoperative, dont waste time, supply
  system thru floor outlet(s),
• If supplying floor outlet(s), remember proper
  fittings,
• If your FD has security caps/plugs, make sure
  responding FDs have keys provided to them.

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Prepared by Thomas Bartsch Chief Fire Inspector
(ret)