Fire pump

[1] Fire pumps are powered most commonly by an electric motor or a diesel engine, or, occasionally a steam turbine.

If the governing model building code requires backup power independent of the local electric power grid, a fire pump using an electric motor may utilize an emergency generator when connected via a listed transfer switch.

Given the incompressibility of water, fire suppression system pressures drops significantly and quickly when one or more outlets open.

This usually occurs if the building is very tall, such as in high-rise buildings (to overcome hydraulic head losses created from elevation differences), in systems that require a relatively high terminal pressure at the fire suppression outlets (to provide sufficient water droplet penetration of a fire plume), or in systems that require a large discharge of water (such as storage warehouses).

Some situations may be compounded by all of these factors, requiring large water supplies and powerful fire pumps.

For the purpose of installation & maintenance of fire-fighting pumps, Bureau of Indian Standards has published IS 15301 which is being followed throughout India.