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Fire Lighting pump and water storage
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Fire storage tanks

The amount of water in the fire storage tanks is determined by the hazard level of the project under consideration.

Most building codes have at least three levels, namely,

a) Light Hazard (such as schools, residential buildings and offices),

b) Ordinary Hazard (such as most factories and warehouses), and

c) High Hazard (places which store or use flammable materials like foam factories, aircraft hangars, paint factories, fireworks factories).

The relevant building code lists which type of structure falls in each category. The quantity of water to be stored is usually given in hours of pumping capacity. In system with a capacity of one hour, the tanks are made large enough to supply the fire with water for a period of one hour when the fire pumps are switched on. For example, building codes may require light hazard systems to have one hour’s capacity and high hazard 3 or 4 hours capacity.

The water is usually stored in concrete underground tanks. It is essential to ensure that this store of water always remains full, so it must have no outlets apart from the ones that lead to the fire pumps. These tanks are separate from the tanks used to supply water to occupants, which are usually called domestic water tanks. Designers will also try and ensure that the water in the fire tanks does not get stagnant and develop algae, which could clog the pipes and pumps, rendering the system useless in a fire.

Fire pumping system

Fire pumps are usually housed in a pump room very close to the fire tanks. The key thing is that the pumps should be located at a level just below the bottom of the fire tank, so that all the water in the tanks can flow into the pumps by gravity.

The capacity of the pumps is decided by considering a number of factors, some of which are:

the area covered by hydrants / standpipes and sprinklers

the number of hydrants and sprinklers

the assumed area of operation of the sprinklers

the type and layout of the building

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