Requirements for the number and location of hotel fire water pump adapters
I am fire protection expert Alexander Li. Fire department connections (FDCs) are the critical interface linking fire engines to a building's fire water supply system. In high-occupancy venues such as hotels, their provision directly determines whether external water sources can be rapidly supplemented during a fire — they are the "last line of defense" in fire system design. Based on my years of project experience, many hotels have exposed problems during acceptance or operations due to improperly located or insufficient FDCs, even compromising firefighting efficiency. The following is a detailed analysis combining codes and practice.
1. Quantity Requirements
Per Article 5.4.3 of the *Technical Code for Fire Water Supply and Hydrant Systems* (GB 50974-2014), the number of FDCs shall be calculated based on the system design flow, with the flow per FDC taken as 10–15 L/s. For example, if a hotel's indoor hydrant system design flow is 40 L/s, at least 3–4 FDCs are required (40÷15≈2.67, rounded up to 3). Meanwhile, Article 5.4.4 specifies that where the fire water supply system is divided into zones, each zone shall be provided with independent FDCs. In practice, I handled a high-rise hotel project with 3 basement levels and 28 above-ground levels, divided into high and low supply zones with design flows of 30 L/s and 20 L/s respectively; ultimately 3 FDCs were provided for the high zone and 2 for the low zone, satisfying the code while facilitating fire engine operations.
2. Location Requirements
Per Article 5.4.5 of GB 50974-2014, FDCs shall be located outdoors where fire engines can readily approach and operate, at a distance of 15–40 m from outdoor hydrants or fire reservoirs. In addition, Article 5.4.6 requires FDCs to be located in conspicuous and unobstructed locations with permanent signage (e.g., "Fire Department Connection" and zone identification). For hotel projects specifically, I recommend:
- Avoid concealed corners: For example, in a five-star hotel I was involved in, the original design placed the FDCs in a landscaped strip behind the podium, inaccessible to fire engines; this was changed to along the main road side, no more than 2 m from the curb, with crash barriers added.
- Provide zone identification: Mark high-zone and low-zone FDCs as "High Zone-1~3" and "Low Zone-1~2" respectively to prevent misoperation by firefighters. This complies with the signage requirements of Article 5.4.7 of the *Technical Code for Fire Water Supply and Hydrant Systems*.
- Coordinate with building layout: Where a hotel has multiple entrances, FDCs should be distributed on different sides of the building to ensure at least one direction is usable during a fire. For example, in a resort hotel project, I located FDCs at the main entrance, side driveway and back-of-house area, covering three sides of the building.
3. Engineering Case
In a super high-rise hotel project (height 120 m), the original design provided only 4 FDCs on one side, but fire acceptance identified that high and low zones were not provided with separate FDCs, and the location was only 10 m from the fire reservoir, not meeting the 15–40 m range. We optimized the scheme: 3 high-zone and 2 low-zone FDCs on the north and east sides of the building respectively, with spacing no less than 15 m, plus permanent signage. The project ultimately passed acceptance, and in subsequent operational testing, fire engines were able to complete connection within 1 minute.
Summary
The number of hotel FDCs shall be calculated based on system design flow, with each FDC configured at 10–15 L/s and provided by zone; locations shall be outdoors where fire engines can readily approach, 15–40 m from outdoor water sources, with clear signage. Proper provision improves firefighting efficiency and avoids acceptance rework.
The above is for reference. Actual project conditions still need to be further evaluated and implemented in combination with specific operating conditions, site conditions and other factors.