A tank providing suction to a fire pump whose capacity is less than the fire protection demand is called what?

A tank providing suction to a fire pump whose capacity is less than the fire protection demand is called what?

• A. Jockey Tank
• B. Break Tank
• C. Suction Tank
• D. Prime Tank

Answer: (B)

A break tank is used to provide a dedicated suction source for the fire pump when the building’s normal water supply cannot meet the required fire protection demand. In such systems, relying solely on the municipal or domestic supply can fail to deliver the needed volume, so the break tank stores water and feeds the pump suction, helping to maintain prime and deliver the necessary flow. It effectively “breaks” the dependency on an undersized or unreliable supply, allowing the pump to develop the required discharge even as the primary supply struggles. The jockey tank, by contrast, is a smaller reservoir meant to keep the system pressurized and top off minor leaks; it doesn’t supply the full fire flow. Other terms like prime tank or suction tank aren’t the standard designation for this function in NFPA 20.

A break tank is used to provide a dedicated suction source for the fire pump when the building’s normal water supply cannot meet the required fire protection demand. In such systems, relying solely on the municipal or domestic supply can fail to deliver the needed volume, so the break tank stores water and feeds the pump suction, helping to maintain prime and deliver the necessary flow. It effectively “breaks” the dependency on an undersized or unreliable supply, allowing the pump to develop the required discharge even as the primary supply struggles.

The jockey tank, by contrast, is a smaller reservoir meant to keep the system pressurized and top off minor leaks; it doesn’t supply the full fire flow. Other terms like prime tank or suction tank aren’t the standard designation for this function in NFPA 20.