I just got a call from a client who has been out all day on an
impairment. A project we finished up this past summer was a 13R
system in a 3 family house used for student and faculty housing. The
system was fed from a very low pressure private water system with a
limited service fire pump located in the basement. The woman who
lives upstairs (a teacher) had opened a window next to the pump and
posted a sign "please leave the window open so my cat can get in and
out". Needless to say, during the last two single-digit temperature
nights, a problem developed. The jockey pump casing froze and split.
The drop in pressure triggered it to start, which it couldn't do, so
the motor cooked. When the pressure dropped sufficiently, the fire
pump started (or attempted to) and that motor cooked because the
water in the main piping was frozen as well. Now they have a fire
watch and are looking at possibly 10 weeks to get a new pump. You
can't make this stuff up.
Todd G. Williams, PE
Fire Protection Design/Consulting
Stonington, Connecticut
www.fpdc.com
860.535.2080
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