Fire Water Supply
Why does a building need a fire department connection if it already has a city water supply?
An FDC is a parallel hose-thread inlet on the building exterior so the responding fire engine can pump pressurized water — or foam concentrate — directly into the standpipe or sprinkler system. NFPA 14 requires one on every standpipe system because the city main can fail, drop pressure under fire flow, or fall short of the riser demand on a high-rise. The engine becomes the supplemental pump.
Look up the underlying term
Definitions, code references, and related terms in the Fire & Fabrication glossary.
Fire Department Connection (FDC)Related questions
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