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OPERATIONS
January 2010 FIREFIGHTER TRAINING

Firefighter Daily Quick

Drills - Easy Access to
Hydrant
Training Topics Calculations
References:
The formula for calculating hydrant flows is:
Delmar Handbook 3rd
edition, pages 310-312
J&B Fundamentals 2nd GPM = 29.83 x c x d2 x vP
edition, pages 487-491 L/min = 0.0667766 x c x d2 x vP
IFSTA Essentials 5th
edition, pages 664-671, Note: "d" is the diameter of the hydrant or nozzle orifice in
695-696 inches. "P" is the pressure in psi (kPa) as read on the gauge of
the pitot at the orifice. "c" is the coefficient of discharge.

The Coefficient will vary with the type of hydrant outlet or nozzle used.
NFPA 1001, 2008 JPR When using a hydrant, feel the inside contour of the orifice to
5.3.15 determine which one of the three types will be used. The three types
of hydrant discharges and their discharge coefficients are 0.70, 0.80,
and 0.90.

Conduct a hydrant test on your department’s hydrant. Use the

formulas above to calculate the hydrant’s flow. Then plug the
information into the following website and see how close they are.

http://www.firehydrant.org/info/hycalc.html

Research and Program Development

www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/RPD/rpd_home.asp