Fight the Flames with High Pressure Fire Pumps

The increase in devastating wildfires, particularly in California and the West, has made the need for high-pressure fire pumps greater than ever. We’ll clarify the sometimes confusing process of selecting the right firefighting pump and accessories for your application.

What is a Fire Pump?

High-pressure fire pumps draw water from a pool, pond, or other water source before pressurizing and discharging it onto a fire through a hose. Although any dewatering or transfer pump can fight a fire in a pinch, it is not ideal. High-pressure pumps can shoot the water significantly further, up to 50 feet, allowing you to keep a much safer distance from the blaze.

How to Choose a High-Pressure Fire Pump

Follow these steps to ensure you get the right firefighting pump for your needs.

Identify Your Water Source

Since a pump is useless without water, you need to know where that water will come from. Many people will use a nearby lake, pond, or swimming pool as their water source.

Note: If you choose a pool or any source with chlorinated or salty water, you will need to flush the pump for 15-20 minutes after use to prevent destructive corrosion.

You also need to consider the distance and elevation from the water source to where you might set up your pump (known as suction head) and from the pump to the fire (known as total head lift). Naturally, you won’t know exactly where the fire would be, but make sure to account for a reasonable perimeter around your home. Most good high-pressure fire pumps can pump water 200-300 feet.

Choose an Appropriate Pump

After calculating your distances, you’re ready to select a firewater pump with enough power to meet that demand. We typically recommend a pump that can provide a minimum of 40-50 PSI of water pressure and at least 40 gallons per minute (GPM) of water flow. We also recommend gas-powered firefighter pumps for their greater power.

When choosing a pump, also consider your terrain and how you plan to move it around. Some models are compatible with wheel kits or carts. If you don’t want to hand-carry the pump, which typically weighs at least 60 pounds, you can also use zip ties and a four-wheel furniture dolly.

These are general recommendations that should work for average applications. However, you may need a more tailored solution if you’re pumping water up a particularly steep hill or a longer distance. Contact Water Pumps Direct to speak with a product expert who will help you find the right pump.

Find the Right Water Pump Accessories

A water pump is a glorified paperweight without the hoses, strainers, and couplings that make it useful in putting out a fire. Here are the required accessories to complete your firefighting solution.

Suction Hose
The suction hose connects to the pump on one end while the other end sits in your water source. Its purpose is to draw water into the pump to be pressurized. You may need an adapter coupling to connect the discharge hose to the pump, especially if the hose uses a Cam-Lock fitting.

Strainer
The strainer connects to the water source end of the suction hose, and it blocks large solids from entering and damaging the pump. Again, you may need an adapter coupling to connect the strainer to the end of the suction hose.

Discharge Hose
The discharge hose delivers the pressurized water to the fire (and is what you’ll be holding). It connects to the pump on one end and to a nozzle on the other.

First and foremost, you must get a heavy-duty mill hose for your fire pump because it’s the only type capable of handling high water pressure. Less-expensive lay-flat hoses are fine for dewatering and other pump applications but can burst when used with a high-pressure pump.

In most cases, the female end of the discharge hose connects to the male end of the fire pump. The male end can connect either directly to the nozzle or to additional hose lengths. The mill hoses we offer come in 50-foot lengths, so you may need to connect two or three depending on the distance to the fire. Adapter couplings may be required at any of these connections.

Fire Nozzle
The hose nozzle connects to the discharge end of the discharge hose and controls the water flow and spray pattern when fighting a fire. Since the heavy-duty hoses typically use the Cam-Lock (C&E) fittings, you may need the proper adapter to connect to the fitting on the nozzles.

While we offer nozzles with NPT/NPSH threaded fittings, NST threaded fittings are also common, especially in professional applications. Confirm the type of threaded fitting on your fire nozzle before buying adapters.

Safety Note: Always have the nozzle in the open position when the pump is running. Closing it can cause a very dangerous “dead head” scenario unless you run a proper bypass off the pump discharge port and back to your water source.

Adapter Couplings
We have noted the possible need for adapter couplings for all the above connections, and we cannot overstate their importance. This is because we sell two main types of fittings for pumps and accessories: NPT/NPSH threads and Cam-Lock (C&E) fittings. These are not directly compatible. For example, if your pump has a male thread, it will not directly connect to a female Cam-Lock fitting on a discharge hose. Adapter couplings bridge this gap.

The table below lists recommended couplings for the accessories and pumps offered by Water Pumps Direct. These adapter couplings are all available in sizes of 1-¼ inches to 6 inches.

Firefighting Pump Kits

Water Pumps Direct makes buying a fire pump simple by offering kits that include the pump, hoses, adapters, nozzles, and more.

Here are four great fire pump kit options:

• BE HPFC-2065HR - 126 GPM (2") Fire Fighting Cart w/ Honda GX Engine

• BE HPFK-2070R - 126 GPM (2") Fire Fighting Water Pump Kit

• CET 70 GPM (1-1/2") Goliath 2-Stage Hand Truck Fire Fighting Pump w/ 6 HP Honda GX Engine

• Pacer 200 GPM (2") Emergency Fire Fighting Water Pump Kit

Having a firewater pump on hand will give you the confidence to protect your home and property from the unthinkable. As always, contact our experts for one-on-one assistance with finding a pump.