Firewater Control and Isolation Valves

All fixed fire suppression system control valves should be located out of the fire hazard area but still within reach of manual activation. For high hazard areas (such as offshore facilities), dual feeds to fire suppression systems should be considered from opposite areas. For onshore facilities, firewater isolation valve handles should not be contained within a valve pit or a below grade enclosure within the vicinity of hydrocarbon process facilities, since heavy process vapors travel from the process and may settle inside. 

If a firewater line needs to be temporarily isolated and an isolation means is not available on the immediate portion of the system needing work, a unique solution is to use a liquid nitrogen low temperature coil line freezing apparatus. This mechanism causes an ice plug to form in the line, effectively sealing the line from leakage, during the period the temporary isolation is needed. 

Firewater control valves are usually required to be tested to a recognized standard. The most common listing is by UL which is shown in Table 25. 

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