Buildings that are equipped with a standpipe or a sprinkler system will have a fire department connection (FDC) located on the outside. This is so that the fire apparatus can supply more water and pressure to augment firefighting operations.
The FDC will be located on the building for quick and easy access can by firefighters. Usually, the FDC is located at the front of the building. This may not always be the same location for every building. The location of the sprinkler room or standpipe inside the building will usually dictate where the FDC will be located.
On some buildings it may be on the side of the structure, as shown in photo 1. These sets of FDCs are located on the side entrance of the building’s loading dock access. They are hidden from public view and would be hard to locate if pressed to do so on a moment’s notice. On other buildings, it may be located quite a distance away. At a nursing home in our first-due area, the FDC is located at the street as a stand-alone FDC with the building being about 100 feet from it.
RELATED FIREFIGHTER TRAINING
- The “Ins” and “Outs” of Fire Department Connections
- Fireground Operations Using Fire Department Connections (FDC)
- Firefighter Training Drill: Do the Twist: FDC Hook Up
- Locating Your FDCs
At another building, a high-rise apartment complex consisting of four different apartment high-rise buildings, the FDCs are in different spots for each building. On two of the buildings, they are located at the front main doors but are hidden behind a set of bushes. On the third building, the FDC is located at the corner of the building near the main drive, away from the front doors. On the fourth building, the FDC was located at the outside vent of the underground parking garage as a stand-alone FDC. This was also hidden behind a set of bushes.
On my way to pick up my children from school, I always walk down the one side of the school to the rear entrance where they are released. On my way to the rear, I noticed that the school’s FDC is located halfway down. Preplanning can take place at any time.
When arriving on scene, the apparatus operator or driver must secure their water supply and also secure the FDC quickly so that when crews going inside need water, they will have it. Trying to locate the FDC will be stressful for the driver if firefighters don’t know where to find it.
The answer to knowing where the FDC is going to be located is to preplan these buildings. Get to know where they are going to be located by physically walking around and locating it. Preplanning is also training and is a great way to both gain knowledge and practice some skills.
Equipment needed: Spanner wrenches, note paper, cellphone, 2 ½-inch double male coupling or a storz cap (size appropriate to FDC storz connection)
Goal: To become familiar with the location of the different FDCs in the first-due response district and to make sure they are accessible.
Drill:
- Using your first-due response area, draw up a list of buildings that have FDCs.
- Select five or six of them to visit to locate where the FDC is. Pick buildings that are not visited frequently or are known to be different in terms of their FDCs or architectural features.
- Once on site, try to locate the FDC. Take a picture of it so as to show other crew members and/or to build a database for quick reference.
- Once located, take the spanner wrenches and remove the caps of the FDC to make sure they can come off easily and there is no debris on the inside.
- Put back on the caps and make them only hand tight – for future use of taking them off easily.
- If time permits, take a small section of hose or a double-male coiling and thread it to the FDC or snap the storz couplings together if a storz FDC. This will check to determine whether the threads are stripped and a connection can be made.
Key points:
- Check to see if any obstructions such as bushes are blocking firefighters’ view of the FDC.
- If it is not by the front door, note where the FDC is located.
- Check to see if there is any debris inside the FDC that needs to be cleaned out. Use the spanner wrenches to clean out the inside, not your fingers.
Mark van der Feyst has been in the fire service since 1999 and is a firefighter with the Fort Gratiot (MI) Fire Department. He is an international instructor teaching in Canada, the United States, and India, and at FDIC. He is also the lead author of Residential Fire Rescue (Fire Engineering Books & Video). He can be contacted at Mark@FireStarTraining.com.
