Who approves a fire line connection in Phoenix?

The Water Services Design Standards Manual says: "All fire line installations shall be approved and permitted collectively by the Fire Department, PDD and WSD." Water Services (WSD) limits its own interest, saying its "review and approval interest is limited only to that portion to be constructed in the ROW or water easement." The other two departments cover everything else.

The 2024 Phoenix Fire Code adds the permit side:

• 105.6.26.10: "A construction permit is required for the installation or modification of fire lines that serve fire protection systems, fire hydrants, or any combination thereof."
• 105.1.2: fire protection system construction permits "shall only be issued to current business certificate holders."
• 105.7: the Fire Department issues a business certificate to qualified contractors who install, modify, alter, test, repair or service a fire main, sprinkler system, standpipe, fire pump or similar system. Getting one takes a current Arizona Registrar of Contractors license, a state privilege tax license and a qualification such as NICET Level 3 or 4 certification in a category like underground fire mains and hydrants.
• Building code, 105.1 item 1: separate permits are required for automatic fire extinguishing systems, fire alarm systems and other equipment regulated by the Phoenix Fire Code.

The manual sets the rules Water Services applies at the main:

• A fire line serves fire protection only and only one property.
• The standard connection is four inches or larger. Smaller lines need a meter, installed by the city and locked open.
• Every fire line connects perpendicular to the public main with a control valve, and none may sit at the end of a dead-end main.
• Fire lines of four inches or larger use ductile iron pipe from the control valve to the property line, backflow device or detector check valve.
• A backflow preventer is required, and it goes on private property, outside the right of way and public utility easement.
• Maintenance of the private fire line "is the responsibility of the property owner and begins at the control valve located within the public right-of-way or water easement."

• Fire line: the private pipe from the city main to the building's sprinkler riser or on-site hydrants.
• Control valve: the valve at the main. It is where the owner's responsibility starts.
• Business certificate: the Fire Department's approval to do fire protection system work in the city. It is separate from the state contractor license.
• PDD, WSD: Planning and Development, and Water Services.

Owners, designers and contractors of commercial and multifamily properties with sprinkler systems or on-site hydrants. A single-family home with a domestic water service and no fire line does not go through this process.

• A restaurant remodel adds sprinklers. The sprinkler work and the underground lead-in go through the Fire Department with a business certificate holder. The general plumbing contractor's plumbing permit does not cover them.
• An owner finds a leaking fire line under the parking lot. The manual puts maintenance on the owner from the control valve. The Fire Code requires a permit to install or modify a fire line and requires a business certificate for anyone who repairs a fire main, so ask the Fire Department how it treats the repair before anyone digs.
• The same leak sits on the city's side of the control valve. The answer flips: that part is the public system, and it is for Water Services, not the owner.

1. 1Confirm the property's fire line is a separate connection from the domestic service. The manual prohibits combining a fire line with a domestic service except for qualified Adaptive Reuse projects (TRT 00518), so each demand needs its own connection.
2. 2Hire a contractor who holds a current Phoenix Fire Department business certificate for the fire line categories. A plumbing license alone does not qualify.
3. 3Have the contractor apply for the Fire Department construction permit and coordinate the PDD and Water Services review.
4. 4Lay out the backflow preventer on private property outside the right of way, and plan for the fire flow meter if the line is smaller than four inches.
5. 5Keep the fire line maintenance and inspection records at the property, since the manual and the Fire Code leave the owner responsible.

• "It is a plumbing permit." Section 105.6.26.10 of the Fire Code requires a construction permit for the fire line.
• "The city maintains the pipe to my building." Owner maintenance begins at the control valve in the right of way or easement.
• "Any licensed contractor can pull the permit." The Fire Code limits it to current business certificate holders.
• "The manual is current on every code." The 2021 manual still cites the 2018 International Fire Code in one place, so read it against the 2024 Phoenix Fire Code.