9.6.5.3. |
"(1) A fire department connection in accordance with Sentences 3.2.9.5.(2) to (9) of the Building Code shall be provided.
(2) Despite Sentence (1), a fire department connection is not required where a booster pump equipped with emergency power is provided. (3) Despite Sentence (1), connections that are visible and accessible to the fire department and that are approved may be used."
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Intent: |
Fire suppression in high-rise buildings is highly dependent on internal attack by firefighters. For this reason, the adequacy and reliability of the water supply is essential.
Buildings must be provided with fire department connections (siamese connections) for use by firefighters to supplement the water supply in a standpipe system. If a standpipe system includes a booster pump with an emergency power supply, the fire department connection need not be provided. In order to ensure a readily available and adequate supply of water for firefighting, the location of fire hydrants is also specified.
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Other Resources: |
OBC 3.2.9.5.(2) to (9), NFPA 14, "Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems".
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Application:
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| Q1: | Does retrofit provide flexibility to accept distances greater than 45m from the hydrant to the fire department connection? | |
| A1: | Sentence 9.6.5.3.(3) allows for the approval of the arrangement of existing fire department connections. However, several factors need to be evaluated to ensure that a comparable level of protection exists. The evaluation of comparable protection levels should include the impact on intervention time and resources of the fire department necessitated by the additional hose lay needed to complete the connection between hydrant, pumper and fire department connection. The following considerations should be evaluated on a site by site basis: (a) presence of a booster pump equipped with emergency power; (b) the strength of the water supply in terms of pressure and volume available from the standpipe and from the hydrant; (c) standard operating guidelines used by the fire department for firefighting in 9.6 buildings; (d) availability of manpower and apparatus to respond promptly to the fire scene; (e) the arrangement of equipment and hose on the responding pumpers; (f) presence of enhanced fire detection within the building and monitored fire alarm systems; (g) presence of enhanced fire suppression features within the building (e.g. fully sprinklered). |
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