When you’re ordering a new fire pump, it’s important to make sure the supplier is licensed and insured for the work being undertaken in the factory — not just the work on site.
Think of it like ordering a transportable home. The house is wired up, plumbed up and signed off by licensed trades in the factory, so that when the building surveyor carries out their final inspection, the compliance certificates are ready to hand over. A fire pump set is no different. The pipework, valves and assembly work done in the factory is regulated plumbing work, and it needs to be done — and certified — by the right people.
What the regulations say
Under the Plumbing Regulations 2018 (Vic), fire protection work is a regulated class of plumbing work. Regulation 17 defines fire protection work as the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, routine servicing, maintenance, testing or commissioning of any part of a water service used for fire fighting — from the point of connection to the water supply, up to and including any fire protection equipment forming part of that service — along with any associated design work. Notably, Regulation 17(2) specifically excludes the commissioning of a fire system pumpset from this general class: commissioning is regulated separately again, in the instance of the electric pump sets, electricians are involved in this part.
The Building and Plumbing Commission’s scope for fire protection work describes fire pump work to include:
- Fabricate, install, maintain, repair and test fire system pumpsets.
This work sits within a specialised class of fire protection plumbing. Only practitioners registered or licensed in that class are authorised to carry it out, and licensed practitioners are the ones who can issue compliance certificates — and are required to hold relevant insurance. Pump sets themselves must comply with AS 2941 Fixed fire protection installations — Pumpset systems, which is called up directly in the Regulations.
Unless Section A2G2 of the NCC has been applied, and a combination of performance and DTS are being applied. This is engineering work, and needs seperate consideration, including licensing and whether performance based engineering is required.
Checks to have in place before you order
Therefore, when you’re ordering a pump set, make sure the following checks are in place:
- A registered engineer has provided the required calculations.
- A registered services designer has provided construction drawings in conjunction with the engineer. They work together as a team, and present drawings for the proponents.
- The building surveyor has stamped both sets of drawings.
- You have engaged a licensed sprinkler fitter to build the pump set in accordance with the drawings.
If you don’t have any of these items, you cannot order the pump set. Start from stage one and work your way through.
Check your pump builder’s paperwork
You will also need to check that the pump builder has:
- Their sprinkler fitter’s licence number listed on the insurance for the work being undertaken (see our insurance below as an example of what to look for). You can verify any practitioner’s licence for free on the Building and Plumbing Commission website.
Why it matters to you
Without the right licensing behind the build, you’re exposed on three fronts:
- Certification — no compliance certificate means problems at occupancy permit or final inspection stage.
- Insurance — unlicensed work generally isn’t covered, so if something fails, the risk lands on you.
- Rework costs — having a non-compliant pump set pulled apart and re-certified costs far more than getting it right the first time.
At Melfire, our fire pump sets are built, tested and certified by licensed fire protection practitioners, so the paperwork is ready when your building surveyor needs it. Call us on 1300 134 971 to talk about your next fire pump.