What kind of alarms should a fire pump controller provide?

• A. Alarms for faults only.
• B. Alarms and indicators for faults, pressure drops, start/stop events, and power or sensor faults.
• C. No alarms required.
• D. Alarms for door open status.

Answer: (B)

Alarms in a fire pump controller are there to keep the system's reliability visible to operators by signaling a range of conditions, not just faults. The controller should provide alarms and indicators for faults, but also for pressure drops, start/stop events, and power or sensor faults. This combination ensures you’re alerted if something goes wrong electrically or mechanically, if the protected system’s pressure is falling and may require pump action, if the pump starts or stops as part of normal operation or due to a fault, and if there are issues with power supply or sensing devices. Without these alerts, you could miss developing problems that could compromise fire protection. Alarms for door open status aren’t relevant to pump operation, and claiming no alarms are required would leave critical conditions undetected.