Steven Brown presented to the AFSA Mid-Atlantic Chapter on NFPA 20, and the changes between the 2013 and 2016 editions in Newark, DE on January 21, 2016. While covering the changes to the 2016 edition, Steven also discussed key items from each chapter that while not necessarily new, are certainly often overlooked or misunderstood.

A discussion about what is new to 2016 is actually quite useful, since NFPA 20 no longer annotates the codebook to indicate what wording has been modified, added, or deleted.

Multi-stage, Multiport Pumps

New to the 2016 edition of NFPA 20 is the concept of a multi-stage, multiport pump. This type of pump is not often seen in the United States, and is basically a pump with more than one discharge flange. Since Factory Mutual no longer permits using fire pumps in series, there is a renewed interest in the concept of a pump which can serve more than one zone in high rise buildings, and do so without using more than one pump, motor, or engine. Continue reading →