craft of any type. When installing any fire
main, I follow the requirements of the CFR
for passenger vessels, with the exception
that—on fiberglass boats—I may use alu-
minum pipe instead of steel.
The fire pump must deliver a hose stream
that projects at least 25 feet (7.6 m) out of the
nozzle.
The fire pump can be driven off the main
engine. It must be capable of operation both
from a remote central fire station and from
the pump.
Fire hoses and nozzles must be left perma-
nently attached to the hydrant and ready for
immediate use, and the hose and fittings must
be Underwriters Laboratories (UL)–approved
lined fire hose and assemblies or its equiva-
lent, with fittings of brass, bronze, or stainless
that won’t corrode in the marine environment.
The fire stations and hydrants must be
arranged so that hoses from the various fire
stations will reach all parts of the boat.
For vessels carrying more than 49 pas-
sengers or over 65 feet (19.8 m), the hose and
piping must be 1^1 / 2 - inch (40 mm) minimum
diameter.
For vessels under 65 feet and carrying
49 passengers or less, the hose may be good-
quality garden hose, not less than^5 / 8 - inch
(16 mm) diameter.
Since—other than on a small passenger
vessel—you usually will install fire mains
only on boats well over 65 feet (19.8 m), you
can consider 1^1 / 2 - inch (40 mm) fire hose and
piping, and 50 gpm (189 lpm) at 60 psi
(414 kPa) as measured at the pump outlet
as the fire-main standard. If you are using
apair of pumps for combined fire-main
and bilge-system operation, they should both
be sized to meet these requirements. One
pump that meets these requirement is Ober-
dorfer’s N13HDM pump (Figure 18-7). These
pumps have 1^1 / 2 - inch (40 mm) ports and meet
the required capacity.
PART SIX: PLUMBING SYSTEMS WITH NOTES ON FIRE SUPPRESSION
Figure 18-6. Fire
station with
hydrant, hose, and
nozzle
TABLE 18-3. CFR FIRE-MAIN POWER-DRIVEN PUMP/CAPACITY REQUIREMENTS
Subchapter T Description Capacity and/or PSI
Vessels less than 100 GT Vessels over 65 ft. (19.8 m) 1 self-priming, power-driven
carrying 150 or less and vessels less than 65 ft. pump, 50 gpm, 60 psi
passengers or having carrying more than (189 lpm, 414 kPa) minimum
overnight accommodations 49 passengers on gauge at outlet of pump
for 49 or less
Ferry vessels not more than 1 self-priming, power-driven
65 ft. (19.8 m) carrying pump,10 gpm minimum;
not more than 49 passengers pressure unspecified
GT = gross tons
Figure 18-7. Pumps suitable for fire mains
(Courtesy Oberdorfer)