Fire protection system testing
The Ontario Fire Code, overseen by the province’s Office of the Fire Marshal, sets out regulations and requirements for fire safety in buildings and properties within the province.
The code aims to prevent fires in buildings as well as ensure that all building occupants and visitors are safe in the event of a fire.
The code lays out specific requirements for fire protection system testing, maintenance, and repair.
Facilities & Services has a robust program in place to test and maintain fire protection systems and their components on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus to ensure that they will operate properly in the event of a fire.
Sprinkler system testing
A sprinkler system is a critical fire protection technology inside buildings, which consists of a water supply system providing adequate pressure and flow rate to a piping network that distributes water to sprinklers when they are activated by heat.
F&S performs annual inspection and testing on all sprinkler systems on the St. George campus at the same time as testing the fire alarm systems. Learn more about fire alarm testing.
During testing, sprinkler fitters check the water flow, water supply pressure, and alarm connection for every valve in the sprinkler system. Valves that do not meet standards during testing are promptly repaired.
F&S carefully plans, schedules, and notifies our campus partners of annual fire alarm testing via service alerts to minimize the impact on operations, research, teaching, and other campus activities.
Backflow preventer testing
Sprinkler systems in buildings on the St. George campus are equipped with backflow preventers that prevent contaminated water from entering the local water supply. Approximately 100 backflow preventers are connected to sprinkler systems on the St. George campus.
F&S tests all backflow preventers on the St. George campus to ensure proper operation.
Fire pump testing
Fire pumps are fed from the City of Toronto water mains and provide a desired flow rate and pressure to the sprinkler systems to distribute throughout the system and to the hose standpipes. Most sprinkler systems on campus are attached to a fire pump.
Testing is an essential part of ensuring that a fire pump can be continuously relied upon in case of a fire.
F&S tests all 137 fire pumps on the St. George campus monthly and annually.
Monthly test
The monthly churn (no flow) test is performed by running fire pumps without water flowing for 10 minutes. Sprinkler fitters performing the test ensure that the pumps are operating at the correct pressure.
The monthly test has no impact on building occupants.
Annual test
The annual test is performed at full-rated capacity. Sprinkler fitters performing the test ensure that fire pumps can deliver the required flow rate.
The annual fire pump test produces a significant discharge of water outside buildings and may take up to four hours to complete. To minimize disruption to the community, F&S schedules the annual test during the least busy times of the academic year.
Fire pumps that do not meet standards during testing are promptly repaired.
Fire hydrant inspection
F&S maintains 25 university-owned fire hydrants. Fire hydrants must always be operable and capable of providing adequate fire protection.
A certified third-party contractor inspects fire hydrants annually for rust, obstructions, and water accumulation that can freeze over the winter. The inspection also checks for proper water flow and valve operation.