Fire station water usage?

Hi Erin,

I've seen several discussions in this forum over the years specific to fire stations, but they seem to have inconsistent advice, and no confirmation of how the reviews actually went. I have a project like this in FL under v3, but it hasn't gone through review, so it's not of much use. For that one, I categorized the occupants as FTEs rather than residential, and included a narrative. 

As for the fixture categories, the reviewers are pretty particular about what they allow to be called 'residential' or 'private', and it's a short list that doesn't explicitly include fire stations. If this were my project, I'd write a short narrative of my intended approach and contact GBCI to confirm if it's appropriate. They can't tell you if your specific calcs are accurate, or if documents will comply (that would require a CIR), but they can advise if your approach is correct.

Not sure if you still have a question about this, but I did a Fire Station under v3 and listed the fire fighters as residents with residential use patterns with the exception that urinals were available. I used the male employee ratio of water closet to urinal of 2 to 3 and explained in a narrative. This was accepted.

Another question about water usage in fire stations - trying to establish what is defined as process water to be sub-metered - would the water used in cleaning PPE and the vehicles be considered process water? 
Thanks in advance.

I usually use the credit fixture list/water use reduction form as the delineation of what's to be counted versus not: If it's not in the calculator, it's process.

I've even been told by reviewers that things like sinks in wellness rooms, and handwash sinks in spa rooms, kitchen prep areas (like in a cafeteria, not in a regular break room), and so on can either be included or not, it's up to us.

Emily
Makes sense - thanks for the prompt response!