NFPA-20 / NBR 16704 Fire-Pump Compliance Checklist
Clause-by-clause acceptance checklist that maps NFPA 20: 2025 against ABNT NBR 16704:2020, with the documentation artifact a buyer must receive at every checkpoint of a fire-pump project in Brazil.
Written by engineers at FB Bombas — read it, copy it, send it to your fire-marshal-of-record. CC BY 4.0.
Why this checklist exists
A fire-pump system delivered in Brazil must pass two parallel acceptance gates: the factory acceptance test (FAT) signed off by the buyer, and the field acceptance signed off by the state Corpo de Bombeiros.
The two gates use overlapping but non-identical criteria. NFPA 20 governs hydraulic and electrical performance globally; NBR 16704 adds Portuguese-language documentation requirements, INMETRO-recognized certification chains, and Brazil-specific controller and jockey-pump arrangements.
A checklist that only references NFPA 20 will pass FAT but stall at the Bombeiros. A checklist that only references NBR 16704 misses the curve- envelope rigor of NFPA 20 §6.2. This document maps both.
How to use
- Print
checklist/00-master-summary.md— a one-pager with all 47 acceptance items in one place. - Walk the project from pre-installation through field acceptance using the
numbered files in
checklist/: - For the side-by-side clause map, see
comparison-table.md.
Scope and limits
This checklist covers stationary electric and diesel-driven fire pumps in the size range typical of Brazilian industrial and high-rise residential projects (50 to 5.000 gpm rated flow, single-stage and two-stage horizontal split-case or end-suction).
It does not cover:
- Aircraft-hangar specialty pumps (NFPA 409 layered requirements)
- Foam-proportioning systems (NFPA 11)
- Underground supply mains beyond the pump-room flange (NFPA 24)
For those, NFPA 20 references those standards and they need their own acceptance walks.
Contributing
Found a clause we got wrong, or a 2025-edition change we missed? Open an issue with the clause number and the relevant page of the standard. We update within five business days.
About FB Bombas
We design, machine, and assemble industrial pumps in Cabreúva-SP, Brazil. Our fire-pump systems line is built and documented in parallel to NFPA 20 + NBR 16704.
- Fire-pump systems catalog
- Sistemas de combate a incêndio
- Fire-pump factory in Cabreúva-SP
- comercial@fbbombas.com.br · +55 11 4898-9200
License
Documentation: CC BY 4.0 — you may copy, adapt, and redistribute. Attribution: credit FB Bombas and link back to this repository.
This checklist is a compliance reference, not a substitute for a licensed fire-protection engineer’s design and sign-off.
More from the FB Bombas open knowledge base
All knowledge-base sites are hosted on GitHub Pages and licensed under CC BY 4.0 (or CC BY-ND 4.0 for the manuals mirror).
pump-engineering-handbook— Open knowledge base on industrial pumping fundamentals — centrifugal, gear, thermal-oil, fire-fightingpump-procurement-playbook— Industrial pump procurement playbook — RFQ, TCO, contract clausespump-glossary-multilang— Trilingual pump glossary — PT / EN / ES with gotchas and standard referenceslatam-pump-buyers-guide— Country-by-country LATAM procurement guide — Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Perufb-bombas-technical-manuals— Official FB Bombas technical manuals (PDF) — FBCN, FBE, FBEI, FBOT
Canonical FB Bombas: www.fbbombas.com.br · Manuais técnicos