Fire Pump

A Fire Pump is a type of fire fighting equipment. It is a part of a large building fire sprinkler system and is connected to the municipal water system at the intake and to the buildings sprinkler system risers at the discharge. It supplies pressure and water flow to a standpipe system or to a sprinkler system. Fire pumps are often a forgotten element of an automatic fire protection system. If a fire pump does not work, the entire system may fail. Fire pumps are also known as portable fire pumps, fire water pumps or foam fire pumps.

How does a fire pump works?
A Fire Pump is connected to a water storage tank or other water source. The fire pump is activated when the sprinkler system activates. The sprinkler system activates when one or more sprinkler heads are exposed to heat above their design temperature. The sprinkler head releases and water discharges. In order to maintain adequate water pressure inside the sprinkler system, the fire pump has an additional jockey pump. The jockey pump starts working when the water pressure inside the fire sprinkler system dips below a threshold. High pressure fire pumps are ready for operation in a short span of time, thus, preventing structure loss in large buildings and homes.

Types of Fire Pumps:
There are two types of fire pumps. They are as follows:

• Horizontal-shaft centrifugal pumps : Here the pressure is developed by impelling the water outward from the center of rotation. The impeller is mounted on the horizontal shaft.
  
  
• Vertical-shaft centrifugal pump : This is similar to the horizontal-shaft centrifugal pump, but the impeller will be mounted on a vertical shaft in this case.

Applications of Fire Pumps:

• Fire pumps are used to extinguish fire in buildings and homes.
• Fire pumps are especially useful in high-rise buildings.
• They are also used for industrial and municipal power applications.

Features of Fire Pumps:

• A fire pump can easily be used to tackle a fire before the arrival of the fire brigade.
  
  
• Fire water pumps are designed in such a way that it can be operated by a single person.
  
  
• Fire pumps come in all sizes and shapes.
  
  
• There are portable fire pumps as well as vehicle mounting fire pumps.
  
  
• Portable fire pump can easily be stored in a shed or in a garage.
  
  
• Most of the fire pumps are either diesel engine driven or electric motor driven.
  
  
• An electric fire pump is considered to be reliable, but it depends heavily on the availability of a electric power supply.
  
  
• Diesel fire pumps, powered by diesel fuel, are also considered to be reliable.
  
  
• Fire pumps are useful in areas where water supply is limited. If public water supply is nonexistent, then the fire pump can be connected to other sources such as reservoirs, storage tanks, lakes or rivers to create the necessary water pressure for fire fighting.