Teamwork Key on Fire Water System Upgrade

Industrial & Manufacturing

By Elizabeth Traphagen, Field Engineer

In 2022, Cianbro’s IDM team in southern New England was awarded a fire water system upgrade project for a client in southeast Massachusetts.

The project encompasses the construction of a 250,000-gallon fire water tank and pump house building. The fire water tank will supplement the town’s water supply in case of a fire or emergency on-site. The pump house building next to the tank will house a fire suppression plumbing and electrical system, with a diesel pump driving the system. The team is installing a high-density polyethylene waterline from the existing waterline to the pump house, feeding the water into the tank’s inlet. The team is also installing an additional waterline at the tank outlet to tie into the fire loop to support the rest of the property, as well as roughly 5,000 feet of underground electrical conduit that will tie into the existing control room building.

Due to unforeseen delays before mobilization, the team has been continuously working at getting back on schedule and reducing the cost impacts that the early delays caused. One major time-saving solution was having the tank and masonry subcontractors work simultaneously. In addition, communication is key throughout the project to ensure all team members remain safe, especially because of the small gap between the tank and pump house building.

The team braved the challenging weather this fall and winter to keep the project on track, taking caution to ensure that all materials operate under the required temperature range. Additional heaters and blanketing have been needed for the concrete and CMU grout. All in all, the team has come together to ensure they deliver a quality product for the client.