Fire Protection Requirements in Distribution System Design

Abstract

The maximum discharge that may be required of a water distribution system is the quantity to be delivered for the purpose of fighting fires, and the proper provision for such a draught is the principle obligation of the distribution system design. The quantity needed for fire protection, as compared to the total distribution capacity, is related in a general way to the population, the ratio decreasing as the population increases. A small town must devote a relatively greater proportion of its pipe line capacity to fire protection than a large city, and obviously, in the residential section of a city that proportion must be greater than in a commercial or industrial section. Likewise, the per cent of cost of the distribution system required for fire protection is inversely proportional to the population.