Design requirements for hotel fire water tanks and fire pump rooms
I am Daniel Wang, a water supply and drainage specialist focusing on water supply and drainage system design, construction, and O&M. The fire water tank and fire pump room are the core of a hotel's fire protection system and directly affect water supply reliability and personnel safety during a fire. According to GB 50016-2014 Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings (2018 edition) and GB 50974-2014 Technical Code for Fire Water Supply and Hydrant Systems, hotels, as assembly occupancies, must strictly follow the codes in the design of fire water tanks and pump rooms to ensure continuous and stable fire water supply in emergencies.
In system design, the layout, capacity, equipment selection, and electrical control of the fire water tank and pump room are key. The following analysis combines code clauses and practical engineering experience:
**1. Fire water tank design requirements**
- **Capacity calculation**: According to GB 50974-2014 Clause 4.3.2, the effective volume of the fire water tank shall meet the sum of indoor and outdoor fire water demand during the fire duration. The fire duration for hotels is usually 2 hours (automatic sprinkler system) and 3 hours (hydrant system), and shall be calculated based on building height, area, and hazard class. For example, for a medium-sized hotel (about 10,000 ㎡, building height 50 m), with an indoor hydrant flow of 20 L/s and an automatic sprinkler system flow of 30 L/s, the total water demand is approximately (20×3.6×2)+(30×3.6×1)=144+108=252 m³ (sprinkler calculated at 1 hour); in practice, redundancy must be considered, usually no less than 300 m³.
- **Location and structure**: The tank should be located near the pump room or underground, use a reinforced concrete structure, and be provided with an inspection manhole, vent pipe, overflow pipe, and drain pipe (GB 50974-2014 Clause 4.3.8). In a five-star hotel project in Shenzhen, the tank was located on basement level 2, with a volume of 500 m³, divided into two compartments (250 m³ each) for easy cleaning and maintenance.
- **Water quality and ancillary facilities**: Fire water must remain clean to prevent sediment from clogging the pumps. Water level sensors and level gauges with linked alarms are recommended (GB 50974-2014 Clause 4.3.9). In a hotel case in Hangzhou, the absence of a high-level alarm caused the tank to overflow and flood the electrical room; dual level gauges and a remote monitoring system were later added.
**2. Fire pump room design requirements**
- **Location and fire resistance rating**: The pump room should be close to the tank, located on basement level 1 or the ground floor, with a fire resistance rating not lower than Grade II (GB 50016 Clause 8.1.6). The exit should lead directly outdoors or to a safe exit to avoid being blocked by fire. In a hotel renovation in Beijing, the pump room was originally on basement level 3; due to the narrow evacuation passage, it was later relocated to basement level 1 and an independent fire compartment was added.
- **Equipment selection and configuration**: The fire pump set includes duty and standby pumps, and the flow and head must meet the firefighting requirements at the most unfavorable point (GB 50974-2014 Clause 5.1.3). For example, the hydrant pump head must account for height loss (about 1.1 times the static pressure) and pipe network resistance; the typical selection is Q=20 L/s, H=80–100 m. In a hotel in Chengdu, insufficient head resulted in a pressure of only 0.1 MPa at the top-floor hydrant; a multistage pump was later replaced and the piping adjusted.
- **Electrical and control systems**: The pump room should have dual power supply (mains + diesel generator), and the automatic pump start time shall not exceed 2 minutes (GB 50974-2014 Clause 11.0.12). Control cabinets must be waterproof and moisture-proof and provide manual and automatic modes. In commissioning at a hotel in Shanghai, a control cabinet without grounding was damaged by lightning; it was later replaced with an IP55-rated cabinet.
**3. Practical engineering cases**
In an international brand hotel project in Suzhou, the fire water tank volume was 400 m³, the pump room area was 80 ㎡, and two hydrant pumps (one duty, one standby) and two sprinkler pumps were provided, with a head of 120 m. During construction, leakage was found in the tank base plate because the waterproofing layer had not been reinforced; SBS modified bitumen waterproofing membrane was later added, and a diversion trench was provided to the sump. During operation, a level sensor failure caused the pumps to run dry; this was resolved by adding a pressure switch and dry-run protection.
**Summary**: The design of hotel fire water tanks and pump rooms must strictly follow GB 50974 and GB 50016, with key control of capacity calculation, equipment redundancy, electrical reliability, and structural waterproofing. Hydraulic calculations are recommended at the preliminary design stage, waterproofing and commissioning should be strengthened during construction, and regular inspection and testing should be carried out during operation.
The above is for reference. The actual project conditions still need to be further evaluated and implemented in combination with specific operating conditions, site conditions, and other factors.