Where individual floor control valves are used in a multistory building, they should be considered as what?

• A. Part of the main sprinkler system.
• B. A separate sprinkler system.
• C. Not part of sprinkler system.
• D. Requires a separate water supply.

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is the ability to isolate a portion of a sprinkler network so it can operate independently. When a multistory building uses floor control valves, each floor can be shut off from the others, making that floor’s piping and heads function as a stand-alone sprinkler system. This isolation lets maintenance be performed on one floor without affecting the others, and it helps limit water damage to a single floor if a problem occurs.

Because the floor is designed to be independent and controllable on its own, it’s treated as a separate sprinkler system. This doesn’t necessarily require a completely separate water supply feeding each floor—the valve allows isolation while the floors may still share a common source. The other options imply the floor is either not part of the sprinkler system or always tied to the main system without isolation, which wouldn’t reflect the purpose of floor control valves.