Fire Water Supply

a set of structures used to deliver water to the scene of a fire. In cities, towns, and industrial plants, water pipes used for fire-fighting purposes are connected to community and industrial water-supply lines. In the USSR, independent fire water supplies are allowed only for installations with the highest fire risk.

Water is obtained from outside mains through fire hydrants. In low-pressure water supplies, water pressure at ground level during fire-fighting operations should not be less than 0.1 meganewtons per sq m (MN/m²), or 1 kilogram-force per sq cm. Water is brought from hydrants to the site of a fire through hoses with the aid of vehicular fire pumps. In high-pressure fire water supplies (greater than 0.7 MN/m²), water is brought to the site of a fire through a hose directly from hydrants, with stationary pumps producing the necessary pressure. Fire water supplies within buildings basically serve as the initial means of fire extinguishing. Water flows from these water supplies through sprinkler heads connected to hoses and branch pipes. The pressure in an internal water-supply system should permit dense spraying of the most remote spots in a room. Fire water supplies in some plants and small cities and towns take their water from natural or artificial basins and from reservoirs equipped with approaches for vehicular fire pumps.

A. A. KACHALOV and E. M. IVANOV