Standpipe

A freestanding fire standpipe at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

A standpipe is a type of rigid water piping which is put in multi-storey buildings or placed in the street to be used in the event of a fire.

Contents

1 Types
2 Advantages
3 See also
4 References

Types

There are two types of standpipes: "wet" standpipes and "dry" standpipes.

A "dry" standpipe is so named because the pipe usually carries no water or water pressure: the pipe is pressurized only during a fire emergency. The dry standpipe is connected to a fire hydrant or fire engine on the ground, and carries the water to an upper floor, generally the floor below the fire floor [1]. A Hoseline is then connected at this location. Dry standpipes, when present, are generally located in the stairwell of a building.

See also Dry standpipe.

A "wet" standpipe, on the other hand, is filled with water and is pressurized at all times. In contrast to dry standpipes, which may be used only by firefighters, wet standpipes may be used by building occupants. Wet standpipes generally already come with hoses so that building occupants may fight fires quickly.

Advantages

Standpipes resolve a number of difficulties in getting water to the upper levels of a structure, even when it is theoretically possible to use hoseline to accomplish this. Standpipes go in a direct up and down direction rather than looping around the stairwell, greatly reducing the length and thus the loss of water pressure due to friction loss. Additionally, standpipes are rigid and do not kink, a dangerous problem which can occur when hoseline is improperly laid on a stairwell. Finally, laying hose up a stairwell takes time and this time is saved by having a fixed structure already in place.

References

Essentials of Fire Fighting, Fourth Edition, copyright 1998 by the Board of Regents, Oklahoma State University
[Los Angeles City Hazard Mitigation Plan section 30]

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