Modular Fire and Cold-Water Booster Set Upgrade at a Young Offenders Institution

Dura Pump designed and installed two new modular pumping systems:

• A triple cold-water booster set operating in a duty, assist and standby configuration.
• A twin fire booster set operating in a duty and standby configuration, supported by a jockey pump.

The new systems were designed to meet the required duty, flow and pressure demands of the institution while providing improved reliability, resilience and maintainability.

Maintaining Essential Services
Before the existing sets were removed, Dura Pump electrically and mechanically isolated each system and installed temporary pumps and pipework.

This allowed essential fire and cold-water services to remain operational while the permanent equipment was replaced.

The temporary cold-water pumps and pipework were chlorinated and flushed before being introduced into service. Each final changeover was then carefully planned around an anticipated downtime period of approximately six hours per set.

This temporary arrangement was essential in reducing disruption and protecting the institution from an extended loss of critical services.

Overcoming Restricted Access
The pump sets were located inside a GRP building that did not provide sufficient access for equipment of this size to be moved in or out.

To complete the replacement, Dura Pump had to temporarily remove the end of the building, including the door and four sections of the GRP structure.

A specialist crane and lifting contractor were then used to lift the existing pump sets out of the building and position the new modular systems inside.

Due to the operational nature of the institution, the crane lift had to take place within a tightly controlled two-hour window.

Careful coordination between Dura Pump, the lifting contractor and the customer ensured that the old and new equipment could be moved safely within the permitted period, minimising disruption to the secure site.

Once the new sets were in position, the removed sections of the building could be reinstated.

The New Cold-Water Booster Set
The new cold-water system consisted of a Dura Pump triple booster set operating in a duty, assist and standby configuration.

The modular package included:

• Three 11kW pumps.
• A fabricated baseplate and manifolds.
• A modern control panel.
• WRAS-approved fittings.
• Stainless-steel suction and discharge pipework.
• New isolation valves.

The duty, assist and standby arrangement allows the system to respond to varying water demand across the institution while retaining standby capacity if one pump is unavailable.

This represents a significant improvement over the previous arrangement, where all three worn pumps were sometimes required simply to achieve the necessary performance.

The New Fire Booster Set
The new fire system consisted of a Dura Pump twin fire booster set operating in a duty and standby configuration, supported by a jockey pump.

The package included:

• Two 75kW fire pumps.
• A jockey pump to maintain system pressure.
• A fabricated baseplate and manifolds.
• A dedicated control panel.
• Stainless-steel suction and discharge pipework.
• New isolation valves.

The jockey pump maintains pressure during normal conditions, reducing unnecessary starts of the main fire pumps. The standby pump provides additional resilience should the duty pump become unavailable.

This replaced a failing fire system with a modern solution designed to provide greater confidence, availability and operational security.

Installation, Testing and Commissioning
Once the modular systems had been lifted into place, Dura Pump completed all mechanical and electrical connections.

This included:

• Connecting the suction and discharge pipework.
• Installing isolation valves.
• Completing stainless-steel pipework modifications.
• Connecting the new control panels.
• Calibrating the controls.
• Testing system operation and performance.
• Chlorinating and flushing the cold-water booster set and associated pipework.
• Fully commissioning both systems.

After commissioning, a specialist lagging contractor insulated the new suction and discharge pipework.

The complete installation programme was delivered over approximately eight working days.

The Benefits of a Modular Pumping System
A modular approach was especially valuable for this project because much of the system could be designed, assembled and prepared before arriving on site.

Reduced On-Site Installation Time
The pumps, manifolds, baseplates and controls were supplied as coordinated packages. This reduced the amount of fabrication and assembly required within the restricted plant area.

Support for Tight Operational Windows
The modular design made it possible to prepare the systems in advance and coordinate the crane lift within the permitted 2 hour access window.

More Predictable Changeovers
Pre-engineering the systems allowed the installation and final connections to be planned in detail, helping to keep downtime controlled and minimise risk to the institution.

Improved Quality Control
The principal components could be assembled and checked as complete systems before final installation, reducing the risk of compatibility or configuration issues on site.

Easier Future Maintenance
The modular layouts provide clearer access to pumps, valves, manifolds and control equipment. Individual components can be inspected, maintained or replaced more efficiently.

Greater Resilience
The duty, assist and standby cold-water arrangement and the duty and standby fire configuration provide redundancy if a pump requires maintenance or develops a fault.

A Practical Solution for Restricted Sites
The new systems were designed around the available space and the limitations of the existing GRP building. The modular format supported a complex lift and installation that would otherwise have been extremely difficult to complete.

The project replaced two critically ageing and failing pumping systems with modern, resilient modular packages.

The completed installation provides:

• A more reliable cold-water supply to all wings of the institution.
• Increased resilience for the site’s fire hydrant system.
• Standby capacity during maintenance or equipment faults.
• Modern controls for improved operation and fault diagnosis.
• Improved access for future servicing.
• Reduced dependence on obsolete equipment and unavailable spare parts.
• Greater efficiency compared with the heavily worn existing pumps.
• Reduced risk of repeated system failures.
• Greater confidence that essential services can remain operational.

Temporary pumping arrangements protected critical services throughout the works, while detailed planning allowed the specialist crane operation to be completed safely within a restricted two-hour access window.

The prison now has modern fire and cold-water booster systems capable of supporting the demands of a 600-capacity secure estate, with improved reliability, maintainability and resilience for the future.

Protecting Critical Sites with Modular Pump Solutions

For prisons, young offender’s institutions and other secure estates, the failure of a fire or cold-water booster system can create serious safety, operational and continuity risks.

Dura Pump’s modular approach allows ageing and obsolete equipment to be replaced with coordinated, pre-engineered systems while controlling downtime and overcoming challenging site access.

By combining temporary pumping, specialist crane lifting, mechanical and electrical installation, water hygiene procedures, testing and commissioning, Dura Pump can manage the complete replacement process from initial survey through to final handover.