Comments on: A Field Guide To NYC Standpipes (Including Bernie Madoff’s)

By: John

John — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:31:33 +0000

Amos- I’m pretty sure those are the NYC BSA/MEA acceptance numbers. MEA is a testing and apprroval system that the buildings department has. They ensure things like these siamese connections have FDNY hose thread and are are 3 inch diameter as opposed to the 2 1/2 inch the rest of the country uses. Oh and the’re called “siamese” connections because there are 2 inlets merging into one pipe.

By: Amos

Amos — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:12:43 +0000

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone knows what the ID codes on most of these mean and whether there’s a system to them? e.g. the 3rd says: 99-38-6A another says: 764-38-A

By: dana

dana — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:35:03 +0000

do master plumber know when they are installing sprinkler standpipes. that it must comply with the fire code as well or do they just install standpipes that do not match the main fdny track

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:48:46 +0000

oh and twin, don’t take offense, Siamese is just the term for the sprinkler pipes, purely technical.

By: Ryam

Ryam — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:46:01 +0000

Well one thing to keep in mind, NY City does not really do the NFPA codes, instead they take a really large sharpie marker, cross out half of the codes, and then call it the NY City Building Code. The old 1968 code, allowed many buildings to get away with a lot. They have just recently implemented the 2008 code, and things are starting to look up for the Fire Safety Aspects. The reason why NY City took so long to update their codes was for the simple reason of cost. Yes sprinklers are very effective, they are also very very expensive. You have to have inspections, installers, consultants, and lots of red-tape. In other countries, particularly the U.K. they do not do the shotgun style that we do here in America of Sprinkler everything. Instead they design their buildings in a different fashion so that they are not as necessary. The simple solution that has become the American Style to Fire Safety is to simply sprinkler everything, and it works very well, but is not always cost effective. Then again, how can you put a price on human life.

You did a very good job with this Jeff.

-Fire Protection Engineer

By: twin

twin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:04:32 +0000

“Siamese” ? Did anyone else notice that? Sounds a bit derogatory to me.

By: FIRE SPRINKLER

FIRE SPRINKLER — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:06:46 +0000

Amazing collection - How long did it take you to put all this together?

By: i am the weather » » field guide to NYC standpipes

i am the weather » » field guide to NYC standpipes — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:48:42 +0000

[...] via infrastructurist [...]

By: Dominick Kasmauskas

Dominick Kasmauskas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:11:04 +0000

Jeff~
Believe it or not, the majority of Habitat for Humanity locations are FIGHTING installation of automatic residential fire sprinkler systems! It’s crazy! The Michigan HfH spent loads of time and resources fighting the new fire sprinkler requirement in the the 2009 Intl Residential Code.
It is true that some city ordinances only require fire sprinklers in homes of over 5,000 or 6,000 or 14,400 sq ft, hence only protecting the rich based on the false assumption by the National Assn of Home Builders saying people cannot afford homes if we raise the price $3 or 4,000. But rest assured, may communites around the country are requiring fire sprinklers in ALL new houses.
I’m very glad you brought that up and I continue to be impressed with your familiarity of the fire sprinkler issue.

Rob~
Very good point…fire protection is so much a part of the woodwork, no one notices. This in conjunction with two social issues; American apethy towards the fire problem in this country plus the average American’s lack of self responsibility and responsibility of one’s family members.

By: field guide to standpipes (infrastructurist) - mammoth // building nothing out of something

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:05:06 +0000

[...] mentioned my love for Infrastructurist’s field guides before; the latest, A Field Guide to NYC Standpipes, teaches you to read the relationship between standpipes and the fire control systems embedded in [...]

By: rob

rob — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:04:06 +0000

So much fascinating information is encoded on and in the built environment, if we know how to read it. Yet the structures encoding the information are so commonplace that they become invisible to us most of the time — so thanks for making one more small piece legible, Jeff.

By: Jeff Maki

Jeff Maki — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:37:27 +0000

Hello Dominick,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply–glad you found it interesting and much needed; I agree it’s overdue. I also agree with you that fire sprinklers are things that don’t get enough attention, but it does seem traction is being made. I just saw a report from the NFPA (can’t find the link now…), that more low-income housing projects are getting sprinklers through Habitat for Humanity; I’m personally interested in seeing this type of protection extend beyond houses for the rich and famous. That’s, in part, what this project hopes to impress upon readers.

Totally agree with you on instincts; possibly The Station incident could have been avoided if people were more aware of these safety decisions being made for them and the implications

Thanks for the clarification on the top picture–it was used as more of a “lure” to get people to read more, but I actually didn’t know it had a special purpose! To your comment that standpipes aren’t plumbing, totally understood–these are very specialized systems that require special knowledge; calling them plumbing was our way of making the content more accessible–simplification, if you will. We at the Infrastructurist definitely respect the special work fire suppression engineers perform.

Also thanks for the clarification on the LIRR pipe–I was a bit confused as to how to resolve that one!

-Jeff

By: Dominick Kasmauskas

Dominick Kasmauskas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:37:12 +0000

Great article! Thoroughly enjoyed the commentary! Need more.
As a former firefighter of 32 years, I thank you for furthering public awareness of these proven life-safety systems and the importance of having fire sprinklers (and other fire protection devices) throughout all types of buildings, including one- and two-family homes. Fire sprinklers as we know them typically, have been around for over 130 years and there has NEVER been a multiple loss of life (meaning more than 2) in a fire where the building is properly fire sprinklered throughout! As a side note, these are “fire protection systems” not “plumbing”.

Where you live, work, or play…if you have a choice, pick places that have adequate fire protection. Patronize places such as estaurants, theaters, stores, etc that have fire sprinklers. If you walk into a place, it doesn’t feel “comfortable”, there are no fire sprinklers, you can’t readily see other exits or other exits are blocked and your instincts tell you, “this just doesn’t feel right”…listen to your instincts! Why do you think we are born with instincts? Trust them, they work most times. Get out of there and go somewhere else. Spend your money at businesses that CARE abot their patrons’ safety and welfare.

Retrofitting of all high rises is not yet on he books in NYC unfortunately. Business occupancies 100 ft and taller are presently required to retrofit by 2019. Residential occupancies (where the 80% of US fire deaths occur is long over due!

As a last note or two or three, the TOP picture is NOT a standpipe nor fire sprinkler connection for the FD, it is a test-header for doing flow tests by professional and licensed fire sprinkler contractors (not plumbers…not mechanics…unless they also have a fire sprinkler license…but professional and licensed fire sprinkler contractor). There are allowences for Master Plumbers in NYC to perform fire sprinkler work also under the licensure which is overseen by NYC Dept of Buildings.

In the MTA/LIRR picture, it is understood that it is an “automatic” fire sprinkler system. If a “manual” system of some type, it would be declared there and also where the valve is located. These connections are for th most part a “supplemental water supply”, not THE only water supply to these systems. NYC water pressure and volume is plenty for many systems. For high rise buildings, there will be fire pumps and water storage tanks on certain floors. So the public should understand that these sytems, for the most part, are atomatic and do not depend on the FDNY to show to operate these systems…FDNY hook up to the inlets, again, is only supplemental in the maority of buildings.

Also, it is the United States Fire Adminstration, an arm of the Dept of Homeland Security under FEMA.