Is There a Cross-Connection Between Fire Protection Systems and Backflow Prevention?
There has been a significant amount of controversy over the last decade as to whether backflow protection should be provided on fire protection systems. Not only is there controversy over whether or not fire protection systems should be provided with backflow protection, but there is also controversy over the type of backflow prevention assembly that should be provided on the different types of fire protection systems.
There are four basic types of automatic fire sprinkler systems. They consist of wet-pipe, dry-pipe, pre-action and deluge systems. The basic system components of each sprinkler system consist of the water supply, both aboveground and underground piping, check and control valves, a fire department connection, sprinklers, inspectors test connections, and the hanger and support components for the system.