NICET ITWBS case studies

NICET ITWBS · Put your knowledge to work in context.

NICET's Inspection and Testing of Water-Based Systems (ITWBS) program appears on nicet.org as one of the Fire Protection/Building Systems certification programs offered by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies. It is built for technicians whose job is to inspect, test, and document water-based fire protection equipment - sprinkler systems, standpipes and hose systems, valves and control assemblies, and the water supplies and fire pumps that feed them - rather than to design or lay out those systems, which is covered by NICET's separate Water-Based Systems Layout program. The NICET ITWBS case studies are 5 cases and about 3,711 words.

Cold Storage Dry Pipe: A 19% Main Drain Drop and a Six-Year-Old Trip Test

You are performing the annual inspection and test of a dry pipe system protecting a 240,000 ft² cold-storage warehouse held at −10°F. The system has 1,850 standard-response 286°F sprinklers, a 4 in.

791 words, about 4 min 2

Fire Pump Annual Flow Test: Reading the Curve Right

You are conducting the annual flow test of a 1,500 gpm, 100 psi rated electric fire pump. The pump is a vertical turbine in a wet pit, drawing through a 12 in.

768 words, about 4 min 3

Seven-Story Standpipe: Overdue Five-Year Tests and a Leaking Hose Valve

You are inspecting a seven-story, 85 ft Class I automatic wet standpipe in a 1968 office building partly used for records storage. hose valve at each floor landing, a 2½ in.

711 words, about 4 min 4

Twelve-Story Riser: A Throttled Valve That 'Reads Normal'

You are at a 12-story office tower for the annual inspection of the wet system. At the riser you find the 6 in.

727 words, about 4 min 5

Converted Factory: Contract Edition vs. Adopted Code

You are the inspector for a four-story 1972 garment factory converted to self-storage. The jurisdiction has adopted the current IFC, which references the current edition of NFPA 25; the property manager's maintenance contract, written in 2012, says 'monthly inspections per NFPA 25 (2011 ed.).' The system has 1,100 pendent and upright sprinklers, mostly 165°F standard-response, with 286°F heads in the boiler room.

714 words, about 4 min