NFPA 25 Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems (Ebook PDF)

This edition of NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, was prepared by the Technical Committee on Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Systems and acted on by the NFPA membership during the 2022 NFPA Technical Meeting held June 8–9. It was issued by the Standards Council on August 12, 2022, with an effective date of September 1, 2022, and supersedes all previous editions.

This edition of NFPA 25 was approved as an American National Standard on September 1, 2022.

Origin and Development of NFPA 25

The first edition of NFPA 25, published in 1992, was a collection of inspection, testing, and maintenance provisions that helped ensure the successful operation of water-based fire protection systems. NFPA 25 was developed as an extension of existing documents such as NFPA 13A, Recommended Practice for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Sprinkler Systems, and NFPA 14A, Recommended Practice for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Standpipe and Hose Systems, both of which successfully assisted authorities having jurisdiction and property owners with routine inspections of sprinkler systems and standpipes. These documents have since been withdrawn from the NFPA standards system. NFPA 25 became the main document governing sprinkler systems as well as related systems, including underground piping, fire pumps, storage tanks, water spray systems, and foam-water sprinkler systems.

This document provides instruction on how to conduct inspection, testing, and maintenance activities. It also stipulates how often such activities are required to be completed. Requirements are provided for impairment procedures, notification processes, and system restoration. This type of information, where incorporated into a building maintenance program, enhances the demonstrated favorable experience of all water-based fire protection systems.

The 1995 edition incorporated several improvements that reflected the initial experience with the standard. A new chapter was added that addressed obstructions in pipe as well as appropriate corrective actions.

The 1998 edition refined testing requirements and frequencies and provided additional guidance for preplanned impairment programs. The document scope was expanded to include marine systems.

The 2002 edition continued to refine testing frequencies for waterflow devices and evaluation of the annual fire pump test data. This edition also included additional information regarding evaluation and test methods for microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC).

In the 2008 edition, a section permitting performance-based testing was added, providing guidance on alternative means for determining testing frequencies based on system/component failure rates. Component replacement testing tables were introduced in this edition to provide guidance for the appropriate tests to be performed following replacement of system components. Inspection, testing, and maintenance requirements for water mist systems were extracted from NFPA 750, Standard on Water Mist Fire Protection Systems, and were inserted into a new chapter. This action consolidated inspection, testing, and maintenance requirements for all water-based fire protection systems into one document.

The 2011 edition further updated testing frequencies based on a growing database of inspection, testing, and maintenance records. In two new annexes, information was provided for classification of needed repairs and hazard evaluation. The 2011 edition also added new definitions differentiating the levels of deficiency for determining the priority of repair.

The 2014 edition of NFPA 25 had many significant changes with many specific to the chapter on fire pumps. The operating test requirements were rewritten to consider a baseline weekly test for all pumps, with a series of exceptions that would allow for a modified testing frequency. New language was added to address confirmation of pressure recordings and a new fuel quality test for diesel-driven pumps.

Definitions were added for the various frequencies of inspection, testing, and maintenance tasks to create a “window” for completion of the tasks. The concept of internal inspection was modified to an internal assessment concept, in which a performance-based assessment frequency is explicitly addressed. The scope of the Technical Committee on Inspection, Testing, and Water-Based Systems was updated to address water mist systems specifically. The water mist system was modified such that the extract tags from NFPA 750 were removed because the material in the relevant chapter is now in the jurisdiction of NFPA 25.

A new chapter was added to address NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, systems that are installed outside of one- and two-family homes. The requirements for inspecting antifreeze systems were updated to include the latest information from the Fire Protection Research Foundation testing on standard spray sprinklers. The table providing examples of classifications for deficiencies and impairments was relocated from Annex E to Annex A and attached to the definition of deficiency.

For the 2017 edition, new fire pump terms were defined to align with NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection. Criteria were added to Chapter 4 on automated inspections and testing. Residential sprinkler replacement requirements were added to address sprinklers that are no longer available. New requirements were added regarding missing escutcheons or, if listed, escutcheons that are no longer available. ITM tables were updated throughout the chapters, and new no-flow test requirements for fire pumps were added. Chapter 13 added new requirements for the inspection, testing, and maintenance of waterflow alarm devices, separated and added new requirements for the inspection, testing, and maintenance of preaction and deluge valves, and added criteria for air compressors. As of this edition, it contains all the general pressure gauge criteria. Additionally, two new annexes were added: one on connectivity and data collection and another on color-coded tagging programs.

In the 2020 edition, the term electrically operated sprinklers, a new technology, was defined, and ITM requirements were added. Requirements addressing recalled sprinklers were added to Chapter 4, and a section on dry hydrants was added to Chapter 7. Dry sprinkler test requirements were modified from 10 years to 15 years, and additional clarifications to the automated testing requirements for waterflow alarm devices were made. Chapter 8 clarified, for safety reasons, that energized pump controllers should not be opened and introduced the concept of an isolating switch in a separate compartment as part of the pump controller. Fire pump annual flow test and evaluation requirements of the test were revised. Several new requirements were added to Chapter 12 regarding water mist systems.

The 2023 edition has added ITM requirements for dry systems where nitrogen is used and updated the antifreeze system requirements, as the sunset date of September 30, 2022 to switch to listed solutions has been surpassed with the publication of this edition. This edition has also established in Chapter 4 what constitutes qualified personnel. Requirements for accessibility have been added to Chapter 4 and air vents have been added to Chapter 13. There have been several changes to Chapter 5, such as additional requirements to remove concealed sprinkler cover plates and inspect the sprinklers and extension of the criteria for sprinklers with fast-response elements from 20 years to 25 years and dry sprinklers from 15 years to 20 years. Criteria for automatic water spray nozzles and pilot sprinklers was added to Chapter 10, and Chapter 11 has been completely revised.