Spokane Valley Fire Inspectors are seeing an uptick in Fire Department Connection (FDC) brass fire cap theft.  Inspectors are currently performing annual inspections of area businesses for fire safety and have noticed over a dozen of these fire caps missing from their FDC locations.  These fire caps are a fire safety lifeline for buildings.  During a fire event, fire fighters will connect to a business’s sprinkler piping system to insure water is available to the sprinkler systems located throughout the building.  These FDC locations also allow an increase of water pressure to occur as well.

When a cap is compromised or missing, damage can occur to the system including rocks and debris to enter into the sprinkler piping.  Once the cap is gone and the piping has been exposed, a business must then conduct a back flush test.  This test is to confirm the integrity of the piping system for future use in case of incident.

While out this week, fire inspectors noted beehive formation in one of the FDC locations where a brass cap had gone missing.  The SVFD recommends business install an FDC Locking Cap to help protect sprinkler systems from theft, vandalism, debris, and damage.

Businesses can call the SVFD for more information on FDC Locks and protecting against theft, damage, and vandalism at 509.928.1700.