NFPA-20 — stationary pumps for fire protection

NFPA-20 is the standard published by the US National Fire Protection Association covering the selection, installation, and acceptance testing of stationary fire pumps. Despite being a US document, it is widely adopted internationally — and in Brazil it is referenced directly by NBR 16704.

The current edition is NFPA 20: 2025.

What NFPA-20 specifies

Topic Section (2025 edition) Summary
Pump types allowed Ch. 6 Horizontal split-case, end-suction, vertical in-line, vertical turbine
Performance curve §6.2 At 150% of rated flow, head must be ≥65% of rated head; at shut-off, head ≤140% of rated
Drivers Ch. 9, 11 Electric motor, diesel engine, or steam turbine
Controllers Ch. 10, 12 Listed/approved controllers, automatic + manual
Jockey pump §4.27 Maintains pressure to prevent main-pump short-cycling
Acceptance testing §14.2 Hydrostatic, flow test at 100/150% of rated, controller test

The 65/100/140 curve rule

The single most-cited rule from NFPA-20:

Head, % of rated
        │
   140% ●───╮ shut-off (max)
        │    ╲
   100% │     ●  rated point
        │      ╲
    65% │       ●  150% flow (min)
        │
        └─────────────────── Flow, % of rated
        0      100    150

A fire pump curve must lie inside this envelope. A pump that exceeds 140% at shut-off can over-pressure the system at idle. A pump that drops below 65% at 150% flow cannot deliver demand under fire conditions.

What FB Bombas builds

The fire-pump systems line is built specifically to NFPA-20 + NBR 16704 and ships with the listed controllers, jockey pump, and complete documentation package required for fire-marshal acceptance.

See also our fire-pump factory page.

Further reading

References