TL;DR
A standpipe is the vertical water-supply piping system in a building, fitted with hose valve outlets at each floor or landing, that lets firefighters connect attack hoses near the fire instead of dragging them up stairwells. NFPA 14 defines the classes: Class I provides 2-1/2-inch firefighter connections, Class II offers 1-1/2-inch occupant hose, and Class III provides both, fed by risers and the fire department connection outside.
What it means
A standpipe is the vertical water-supply piping system in a building, fitted with hose valve outlets at each floor or landing, that lets firefighters connect attack hoses near the fire instead of dragging them up stairwells. NFPA 14 defines the classes: Class I provides 2-1/2-inch firefighter connections, Class II offers 1-1/2-inch occupant hose, and Class III provides both, fed by risers and the fire department connection outside. Codes generally require one in buildings above a threshold height or with deep interior areas; in homes the term more often denotes a drain riser, such as a washing machine's.
Where it sits in the glossary
Standpipe is part of the Certifications group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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