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How to Determine Fire Flow (IFC Method) Search

3/6/2019 6 Comments

Determining re ow can be a tricky subject. This week I'm breaking down one common method of
 

determining re ow requirements and hopefully exposing some myths about the process.

Not an Exact Science

First, determining the exact amount of water required to manually suppress a re is dependent upon so
many variables. The amount of water used could depend on the building size, hazard, outdoor
conditions, speed of re growth, re department response time, whether the building is protected by
sprinklers, and on and on.

The methods used to calculate re ow are di erent methods at estimating the amount of water required
to manually suppress a re. It is not an exact science.

What is Fire Flow?

I'll start by what re ow is not. Fire Flow is not the volume of water required for the re sprinkler system.
I couldn't count the number of projects where Fire Flow has been assumed to be sprinkler-related.

Fire Flow is formally de ned as the " ow rate of a water supply, measured at 20 psi (138 kPa), that is
available for re ghting." (IFC 200-2018 Appendix B Section B102)

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Fire ow is used to determine the quality of a water supply to an area. It's used as an aid to determine
pipe size and arrangements to delivery water to a speci c area.
The Toolkit
Fire Flow is important for emergency response at it is the total capacity of the system that the re Get access to every tool,
department has available for use in response to a re. the downloadable
Toolkit, Sprinkler
How Is Required Fire Flow Determined? Database, Calculators
and more:
In short - it depends.

There are many methods for determining re ow. The most common cited in US circles include the
Insurance Services O ice (ISO) Method, Iowa State Method, and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
Method. At least a dozen other methods exist (for more on these, the Fire Protection Research
Foundation provides great analysis in Evaluation of Fire Flow Methodologies research paper).

The International Fire Code (IFC) o ers Appendix material that provides guidance for determining the
required re ow, which is based on the ISO Method. It is  not  a mandated code requirement unless a
jurisdiction adopts the Appendix.

Many jurisdictions I've worked with do not have an ordinance that adopts the appendix, but when asked
they are typically open to using the IFC Appendix B method of determining re ow. The International See all the details here.
Fire Code, which is widely adopted in the US, only requires that an approved  water supply "capable of
supplying the required re ow" be provided to buildings. FREE 30-DAY TRIAL

This process will be explored in more detail here. GET THE TOOLKIT

1. Determine Baseline Fire Flow

Author
The rst step in this overall determination of water supply to a site is to determine the required re ow. Joseph Meyer, PE, is a
Fire Protection Engineer
Using the IFC Method, Appendix B has a reference table that stipulates a minimum re ow and ow in St. Louis, Missouri. See
duration based upon building size and construction type (2000-2012 Table B105.1, 2015-2018 Table bio on About page.
B105.1(2)).

2. Reductions & Increases Categories

All
Once a baseline value for ow and duration is taken from the table, it can be reduced based on the
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presence of sprinkler system.
Book Review
Section B105 details the adjustments that are available for buildings with a sprinkler system. A reduction Calculators
  up to 75% can be permitted for buildings
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It's important to note that up through the 2012 edition of the International Fire Code, a reduction of re Design Challenge
ow had to be approved, meaning the AHJ must agree on the reduction. This may not make a di erence if Fire Alarm
a jurisdiction hasn't adopted the appendix and the entire calculation has to be approved anyways, but in Fire Events
the case where Appendix B is adopted and you're under IFC 2000 through 2012, you'll need AHJ buy-in to Fire Suppression
use the reduction. Flammable &
Combustible Liquids
The 2015 and 2018 edition of IFC removed the approval necessity for sprinkler ow reductions. Flexible Drops
Floor Control Valve
As part of this process the Fire Chief is also authorized to decrease the required re ow, based on Life Safety
building isolation or impracticality. Alternatively, the Fire Chief is also authorized to increase based on News
unusual susceptibility for the facility. These stipulations come with Section B103 of Appendix B (all NICET
editions). Passive Fire Protection
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Fire Flow is used to quantify the available water supply for manual re ghting operation.
May 2019
April 2019
3. Verify Provided Fire Flow 
March 2019
February 2019
The best way to verify re ow for a location is to conduct a ow test at the site itself. This of course can
January 2019
be di icult to impossible for new-construction projects on virgin sites. 
December 2018
November 2018
For developed areas or building expansions, this may not be di icult to accomplish.
October 2018
September 2018
I have a current project we're working on that is a major building expansion. Fire ow needed to be
August 2018
assessed based on the new expanded building and whether a single 8-inch feed would still meet the
July 2018
minimum requirements. A ow test on the site itself con rmed that we are just short of required re ow
June 2018
which prompted a healthy discussion with the AHJ.
May 2018
April 2018
4. Calculate from Flow Test to Site (if necessary)
March 2018
February 2018
Sometimes a ow test can't be conducted on the site itself. 
January 2018
December 2017
When this is the case, a hydraulic calculation can be run between the water supply source (nearby ow
November 2017
test, a water tower, reservoir, or pump) and the project site to estimate what the available re ow will
October 2017
be. This calculation incorporates the pressure loss of the pipe network as water is constricted between a
September 2017
source and a project site. The best way to con rm actual re ow (in my opinion) is to verify with a ow
August 2017
test once any extension is installed. 
July 2017
May 2017
Easy Tools for Fire Flow & Water Supply Analysis April 2017
 September 2016
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There's a new tool in the arsenal around here that directly addresses re ow requirements. August 2016
July 2016
It's the Fire Flow Calculator that's now a part of the Toolkit. If you're already a Toolkit subscriber, June 2016
download it today. July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
Fire Flow Calculator
RSS Feed

The Fire Flow Calculator uses the IFC method based on your project parameters to quickly grab the
baseline re ow and duration, and make adjustments for sprinkler protection. Now you have extremely
quick access to determine required re ow, and the documentation to support your process.

This is a tool I'm happy to debut and have used with great client feedback.

On a side note, Toolkit subscribers also now have access to last week's Design Checklist  with user-
provided feedback. The download update includes both tools. Give them a download and let me know
what you think!

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Rate this (7 Votes)

6 Comments

DWIGHT H HAVENS
3/12/2019 11:07:40 am

Good blog putting re ow requirements providing the why on the level that most business owner/developers
can understand.

Unfortunately, Appendix B has not speci cally addressed re ow requirements for the multi-story stick-built
(Type V) with NFPA 13R systems.

REPLY
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4/15/2019 10:03:48 pm

I was needing a little help validating the methodology for re ow requirements in my city. They do not allow
you to verify re ow per #3. Conducting a ow Test. Our city always uses hydraulic calculations to determine
acceptable ow in an area. However, in their hydraulic model they always assume that the water usage that
day is 19,000,000 million gallons which was established by taking the highest usage in the history of our
community of all time, which occurred in 2012 when we had 30 plus days of 100 degree weather of 18M gallons
and adding a 1Million to that. Our average daily usage in our community is around 10 to 11 million gallons per
day. Anyway, the local engineers say that methodology is consistent with the International Fire code. What are
your thoughts? Thanks Mitch Hart 501 626 2121. I would love to know what the IFC requires.

REPLY

JOE
4/16/2019 06:12:12 am

Mitch,

Great point for discussion.

I've posted this question in the Daily Forum page here: https://www.meyer re.com/daily/how-to-best-
determine-the-available- re- ow

REPLY

ROB
4/24/2019 11:11:53 pm

You mentioned that the IFC is based on the ISO Method, how close are they and can you provide any more
background on that? If a building meets IFC, would you expect it score very well under an ISO evaluation?

REPLY

JOE
4/25/2019 05:50:36 am

Hi Rob,

Great question. I've opened this up for dialogue and hope to explore it in more detail here:

https://www.meyer re.com/daily/ re- ow-international- re-code-vs-iso-method

REPLY

PRACHOD
4/25/2019 08:51:13 am

As mentioned in your blog "'Using the IFC Method, Appendix B has a reference table that stipulates a minimum
re ow and ow duration based upon building size and construction type (2000-2012 Table B105.1, 2015-2018
Table B105.1(2))"'. There is similar table in NFPA 1 which shows minimum re ow and duration based on
building construction and area only. However, there is no credit given to the commodity or occupancy hazard
in the building. In this way, we are treating steel work shop (any light hazard) and high plastic storage (high
hazard) with the same re ow requirements.

REPLY
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