Water Sources
Standpipe
A standpipe is a building's built-in vertical water pipe with outlets on each floor, so crews can connect attack lines inside instead of stretching hose up stairwells. The engine supplies it through the fire department connection.
Standpipes make high-rise and large-building firefighting possible by carrying water up the structure. The crew connects to an outlet near the fire floor; the engine below pumps into the FDC to feed the whole system.
Supplying a standpipe means budgeting for the attack hose, the system's own pressure allowance, and a floor's worth of elevation for each level climbed. Elevation can become the largest single term in the pump pressure.
Where this shows up
Calculator
Standpipe / High-Rise