Fire Brigade Booster Assembly.
Fire brigade booster assemblies are required to draw the water for firefighting purposes in case of fire emergency. The local fire department sets the requirements of provisions for the utilization of existing on-site infrastructure which allow them to connect the fire brigade truck with system installed at premises. Fire truck will suck the water through this assembly and fire booster pumps installed on fire truck will pump the water in fire systems piping network so that water can be delivered to the point where the fire is to be extinguished.
So basically, the purpose of this booster assembly is to facilitate the firefighting trucks to suck the water from water reservoirs. This reservoir could be town main water supply or the onsite fire water tanks. It all depends on which type of water supply is available for fire brigade fire trucks. If there is no fire brigade booster assembly on site, the fire trucks cannot extinguish the fire. So, the booster assembly is one of the key equipment in fire protection system.
Why is it required?
Now the question is, if the fire protection system is installed with fire pumps and water supply is available, why would be required fire brigade booster assembly because the fire pumps will deliver the required flow and pressure to the point where the fire sprinklers and fire hydrants are in operation.
The answer to this question is the provision of fire booster assembly increase the effectiveness of fire protection system. Had there been a malfunction in fire pumps, the fire trucks would work as fire pumps which will suck the water from reservoir to deliver the water in area of fire point. In case of fire, if the fire pumps are damaged with fire, the fire trucks can pump the water into piping network for sufficient time until the fire is controlled. Another reason is, if the firefighting activity is be continued for more than the time in which the fuel tank of fire pumps is empty, the fire brigade assembly would provide the means to fire truck to pump into fire system network and continue the firefighting activity.
Where is it required?
For simple understanding, where the street hydrants cannot be used for the purpose of firefighting with respect to the number, flow and pressure, the onsite booster assembly is required.
If the fire protection system is designed as combined system, one fire brigade booster assembly can serve both fire protections system otherwise separate booster assemblies are required for each system.
As the fire protection systems are designed in such a way that the water is available for certain time to extinguish the fire. If the water supply to extinguish the fire comes from town main, the booster assembly shall be installed on town main water supply with booster inlets and outlets. the type of booster inlets, outlets and number depends on the system demand and local fire brigade pumping appliances.
If the source of water is fire tank installed on site, the provision shall be made that fire truck can suck the water from onsite fire water tanks. The size and type of hard suction tank assembly depends on the requirements of local fire brigade pumping appliances.
Type of Booster Assemblies
Section 7 of AS 24119.1 defines the types of fire booster4 assemblies. These could be H-type, I-type, Tank-type, In-line etc. The number of feed outlets and fire booster outlets depends on the demand of fire protection systems. usually, one booster inlet/outlet can serve up to 12.5L/S demand of fire protection system. The number of risers required to serve the whole system also depends on how many booster inlets are installed on each assembly.
Conclusions
As the fire brigade booster assembly is vital part of fire protection system so the proper type, location, orientation and selection of booster assembly requires professional experience and competency. This article is just a brief introduction about fire brigade booster assembly. To care the needs of your fire protection system designing, you can contact Cybil Consults with confidence that the system would comply with Australian Standards and Local fire brigade requirements.
