Protecting life and property
Fire pumps can be either electrically or diesel engine driven depending on the back up power supplies for the premise they are installed in. They are used when the local water supply is in adequate for the pressure required for any given system.
Typically, there are two main fire pumps one as a back up to the other with a jockey pump to maintain the system pressure and prevent false starting of the duty pumps. The pumps activate automatically when the system pressure drops to pre-determined levels such as when a sprinkler head has operated and once running will not turn off instead having to be manually shut down.
Sprinkler Pumps require 6 monthly test & inspections by a specialist engineer to ensure that they are producing the designed water flow and pressure. The pumps are flow tested to their design duty flow rate as well as intermediate points using the permanently installed flow meter on site. The alignment of the motor / engine and pump is checked together with the correct cut in / out pressures for each pump to ensure that they comply with the British Standard BSEN12845:2015 and will operate correctly in the event of a fire situation. The control panel is checked for correct functionality and where applicable the battery chargers and battery voltages confirmed as satisfactory. The cooling function for each pump is confirmed and remote panel functionality tested to confirm the pump running signals are received to alert the building management staff to the pumps running.
