(A) Fire hydrants.
(1) Applicants shall install fire hydrants in accordance with town or the local utility provider’s specifications and requirements.
(2) The town or utility provider may contract with a developer to install additional fire hydrants required, but in all cases, the full cost of providing for such hydrants shall be borne by the developer.
(3) Any hydrant connected to the town’s or local provider’s water system constructed pursuant this section, shall constitute dedication to the town of such hydrant.
(4) All newly installed fire hydrants shall be five and one-fourth inch barrel hydrants. All foot valves shall be five and one-fourth inch in diameter. Only three-way hydrants shall be installed with pumper connections. Hydrants shall meet AWWA C502, five and one-fourth inch barrel hydrants with the Storz quick connection and cap, with two two and one-half inch hose outlets and one five and one-fourth inch main valve opening. All hydrants shall be delivered with a primer coat. After hydrant installation, the primer shall be touched up and then painted yellow (two coats).
(5) (a) All newly installed fire hydrants shall be spaced at 400-foot intervals in residential zoning districts, except as provided herein. In commercial, industrial and multi-family construction developments, hydrants shall be spaced at 400-foot intervals. No application for development approval shall be approved for any building unless a hydrant is installed within 400 feet of the most remote area of the building. Structures with sprinkler systems shall provide fire hydrants within 200 feet of the Fire Department connection. Mains shall be sized to provide 500 gpm exterior hose streams.
(b) Exceptions to hydrant spacing:
1. For Group R-3 and Group U occupancies, the distance requirement shall be 600 feet (183 m); and
2. For buildings equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with the distance requirement shall be 600 feet (183 m).
(6) All newly installed fire hydrants shall be tested by the town’s Fire Department, or the fire department in whose jurisdiction it is located. The water authority shall notify the town’s Fire Department, upon completion of the system and its availability for testing. No construction shall be allowed in the protected area until the water system has been tested and approved unless otherwise allowed by the authority having jurisdiction. In phased construction or development, the minimum loops sizes or applicable performance specifications required by these regulations, must be completed before construction of the structures can commence. The flows indicated as required for one- and two-story single-family dwellings are based upon the minimum distance allowed from structure to structure. A greater amount may be required based upon the following spacing:
More than 30 feet | 750 gpm @ 20 psi |
30 - 13 feet | 1,000 gpm @ 20 psi |
12 - 0 feet | 1,200 gpm @ 20 psi |
(B) Fire protection facilities.
(1) Connections. Connections for fire protection systems shall be made in compliance with the Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Ordinance. Fire protection water facilities installed upon the owner’s private property are for the use of the owner, and any local utility including the Water and Sewer Authority of the county assumes no responsibility for such facilities. No water service, other than fire protection, will be taken from water mains intended to provide fire protection only. Metering may be required of systems that are run periodically for testing with the water going to waste. Notification of testing shall be given a minimum of 48 hours prior to testing. Violation of this notification may require the installation of approved metering devices and appurtenances as specified. The local utility or Water and Sewer Authority of the county reserves the right to make necessary inspections to ensure compliance with these regulations. No pumps may be directly connected to the local utility or Water and Sewer Authority of the county’s system.
(2) Cold water meters - fire service type size six-inch, eight-inch and 12-inch. All meters shall fully comply with the AWWA specification C-703-79. Fire service meters shall consist of a combination of main line meter of the proportional type, having an unobstructed waterway of essentially the full pipe size for measuring high rates of flow, and a by-pass meter of appropriate size for measuring low rates of flow. The meter shall have an automatic valve mechanism for diverting low rates of flow through the by-pass meter. Meters must be approved by the National Fire Protection Association and listed by the Underwriters Laboratories. Loss in-head not to exceed for psi.
(3) Casing. Main casing shall be either of copper alloy containing not less than 75% copper or of cast iron protected by a corrosion resistant coating or other anti-corrosion treatment. Main-case connections shall be flanged. Flanges shall be of the round type, faced and drilled, and shall conform to ANSI B16.1, Class 125. Companion flanges are not required.
(4) Registers. Registers shall be straight reading type and shall read in cubic feet. Registers will be provided with a center-sweep test hand. Registers will be perma-sealed.
(5) Automatic valves. The automatic valve shall be of a type suitable for the purpose. It shall close by force. The weight of the valve and any supplemental force imposed on it shall offer sufficient resistance to the incoming water to diver all small flows through the by-pass meter until such time as the rate of flow through the meter is great enough to ensure efficient operation of the main measuring section. Test plugs must be comparable to meter size.
(6) Test outlet. A minimum two-inch outlet shall be provided on the downstream side of the meter.
(7) Piping sizes.
(a) Brass piping: three-fourths inch and two inches; and
(b) Ductile iron (cement lined) piping: three inches to ten inches.
(C) Fire service requirements.
(1) Requirements in residential zoning districts.
(a) The minimum size of fire service water mains in residential developments shall be six inches. All six-inch mains must be looped. Dead-end mains shall be eight inches or greater. Exceptions: mains installed may meet minimum performance specifications for the expected demand upon the system. Mains shall be designed to provide the following flow rates at 20 psi: residential: 1,000 gpm.
(b) Mains in residential subdivisions may be designed to provide 50% of the required flow in gpm if the homes are provided with an approved sprinkler system in compliance with NFiPA 13D. In any case, the flow shall not be designed to provide less than 500 gpm at 20 psi. Single-family dwellings shall be provided with supply lines which will support the sprinkler system. Minimum service lines shall be one inch.
(2) Requirements in non-residential zoning districts.
(a) The minimum size of fire service water mains in commercial and multi-family dwelling areas shall be eight inches. All eight-inch mains shall be looped. Dead-end mains shall be 12 inches. The minimum size of fire service water mains in industrial areas shall be 12 inches.
(b) All 12-inch mains shall be looped. Dead-end mains shall provide the minimum fire flow as required in this section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, mains installed may meet minimum performance specifications for the expected demand upon the system in lieu of the minimum size requirement.
1. Individual large structures with life safety hazards or extra hazardous operations shall, where required, be provided with on-site hydrants and water mains designed to provide the required fire flow as determined by the ISO formula and the State Fire Code.
2. A waiver of these standards may be allowed by the town during approval of the preliminary plat only in extreme cases where limited frontage, natural features (slope, topography) or similar circumstances preclude the required connections and there is no substantial impact noted regarding emergency service delivery.
3. The Fire Marshal is authorized to reduce the fire-flow requirements for isolated buildings or a group of buildings in rural areas or small communities where the development of full fire-flow is impractical.
(c) The Fire Marshal is authorized to increase the fire-flow requirements where conditions indicate an unusual susceptibility to group fires or conflagrations. An increase shall not be more than twice that required for the building under consideration.
(D) Access.
(1) Approved fire apparatus access roads shall be provided for every facility, building or portion of a building constructed or moved into or within the jurisdiction. The fire apparatus access road shall extend to within 150 feet (45,720 mm) of all portions of the facility or all portions of the exterior wall of the first story of the building as measured by an approved route around the exterior of the building or facility.
(2) Exception: the code official is authorized to increase the dimension of 150 feet (45,720 mm) where:
(a) The building is equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with § 903 of the North Carolina State Building Code, Fire Prevention Code 2002.
(b) Fire apparatus access roads cannot be installed due to location on property, topography, waterways, non-negotiable grades or other similar conditions and an approved alternative means of fire protection is provided.
(c) There are not more than two Group R-3 or Group U occupancies.
1. Facilities, buildings or portions of buildings shall be accessible to Fire Department apparatus by way of an approved fire apparatus access road with an asphalt, concrete or other approved all weather driving surface capable of supporting the imposed load of the fire apparatus.
2. Fire apparatus access roads shall have an unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet (6,096 mm), except for approved security gates in accordance with § 503 of the North Carolina Building Code, Fire Prevention Code 2002, and an unobstructed vertical clearance of not less than 13 feet six inches (4,115 mm).
3. The code official shall have the authority to require an increase in the minimum access widths where they are inadequate for fire or rescue operations.
4. The required turning radius of a fire apparatus access road shall be determined by the code official.
(E) International Fire Code. The latest version of the North Carolina International Fire Code, and all appendices, are hereby adopted into this chapter by reference.
(Ord. passed - -, App. C-3)