NFPA Codes & Compliance FAQ

Question 1

What is the difference between NFPA 14 and NFPA 25?

Accepted Answer

NFPA 14 is the installation standard — it defines how standpipe and hose systems must be designed, sized, and built, including the required pressures and hose connection locations. NFPA 25 is the inspection, testing, and maintenance standard — it defines what you must do to keep that system compliant for the rest of the building's life. Owners satisfy NFPA 14 at construction and then forget NFPA 25 applies forever.

Question 2

What are the main NFPA 25 testing frequencies?

Accepted Answer

The intervals owners care about most: weekly/monthly fire pump churn tests, quarterly alarm device tests, annual system inspections and fire pump flow tests, 3-year dry pipe valve full-flow trip tests, and 5-year standpipe flow tests, hydrostatic tests on dry standpipes, and internal obstruction investigations. Our frequency chart breaks all of it out by interval.

Question 3

What is an AHJ, and can they require more than NFPA?

Accepted Answer

The Authority Having Jurisdiction is whoever enforces the code where your building sits — usually the local fire marshal or building official. Yes, they can require more than the NFPA baseline, and they can interpret ambiguous provisions. NFPA 25 is the floor. Your AHJ, your insurance carrier, and your own approved design can all raise it.

Question 4

My AHJ does not enforce the 5-year flow test. Do I still need it?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Lack of enforcement is a budgeting convenience, not a legal shield. The obligation still exists in the adopted code, your insurance policy almost certainly conditions coverage on maintaining the system per NFPA 25, and a plaintiff's attorney after a fire will not care what your inspector did or did not ask for. Enforcement gaps close instantly the moment something goes wrong.

Question 5

Who is legally responsible for getting the testing done?

Accepted Answer

The building owner carries the obligation, though it is frequently delegated to a property manager, facilities director, or fire protection vendor. Delegation does not transfer liability. If the test was never performed, the owner answers for it — which is why we deliver reports that name the systems, the date, and the results in writing.

Question 6

What records am I required to keep?

Accepted Answer

Keep every inspection, test, and maintenance record for the life of the system, plus the original acceptance test documentation. At minimum: the date, the procedure performed, the results, the name of the qualified person, and the organization responsible. NFPA 25 requires records be available to the AHJ, and your insurer will ask for the same file at claim time.

Question 7

What does Virginia USBC Section 905.2 require?

Accepted Answer

The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code adopts the IBC, and Section 905 points to NFPA 14 for standpipe installation. In practice, that means Virginia standpipes must be installed to NFPA 14 (100 PSI residual at the most remote 2½-inch outlet, 500 GPM for the most remote standpipe), and maintained under NFPA 25 thereafter.

Question 8

What testing does a fire pump require?

Accepted Answer

Weekly or monthly no-flow (churn) tests depending on pump type, and an annual flow test at churn, 100%, and 150% of rated capacity. A pump that has not been exercised is one of the most common reasons a building fails its flow test — and one of the most common findings in real fire losses.

NFPA Codes & Compliance

NFPA Codes & Compliance questions, answered

What is the difference between NFPA 14 and NFPA 25?

What are the main NFPA 25 testing frequencies?

What is an AHJ, and can they require more than NFPA?

My AHJ does not enforce the 5-year flow test. Do I still need it?

Who is legally responsible for getting the testing done?

What records am I required to keep?

What does Virginia USBC Section 905.2 require?

What testing does a fire pump require?

The Codes & Compliance article cluster

NFPA 25 Testing Frequency Chart: What Is Due and When

NFPA 14 Standpipe Testing Requirements — What Building Owners Actually Need to Know

7 Essential NFPA 25 Best Practices for Contractors

Virginia USBC Section 905.2 — Standpipe Requirements Decoded

Fire Pump Testing Explained: NFPA Compliance Impact