I’ve heard fire districts use the term “fire flow” when referring to fire hydrant requirements associated with a new project? What does the term “fire flow” really mean?
The term “fire flow” means minimum volume of water that must be available per minute from the fire hydrants in the immediate area of the project. Fire flow is measured in gallons per minute (gpm) and must be provided at a minimum residual pressure of 20 pounds per square inch (psi) in order to be usable by the fire pumps on fire apparatus.

The minimum fire flow required by the fire code for all commercial projects is 1,500 gpm provided by at least one fire hydrant. However, some cities require that the water distribution system serving a new project area be designed to deliver much more than that. Depending on the size of a building and its construction type, required fire flows can be as high as 4,000 gpm.

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1. I’ve heard fire districts use the terms “fire alarm system” and “sprinkler monitoring alarm system.” What is the difference?
2. I’ve heard fire districts use the term “common-use” area. What is the definition of a common-use area?
3. I’ve heard fire districts use the term “fire flow” when referring to fire hydrant requirements associated with a new project? What does the term “fire flow” really mean?
4. I’ve heard fire districts use the term “turnaround time.” What does that mean, how is it determined, and what is the turnaround time of plans submitted to the Fire Prevention Division for review?
5. I’ve heard building departments and fire districts use the term “variance request.” What exactly is a “variance request”?