Automate fire flow and network capacity analysis

Evaluate Available, Needed, and Design fire flows against minimum residual pressures system-wide. Map capacity bottlenecks and generate instant pressure-flow curves to support development planning.

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Respond to capacity inquiries with hydraulic evidence

Capacity questions drive daily engineering workflows: Can the network support a proposed subdivision? Will a specific hydrant meet fire code without violating residual pressure limits? Where are the system bottlenecks, and what upgrades are required to resolve them?

Answering these inquiries by manually editing junction demands and rerunning simulations is slow and error-prone. epanet-js automates this with two dedicated tools: a system-wide fire flow analysis for network-level planning, and a pressure-flow curve generator for localized, in-depth capacity checks.

Automate compliance checks across every hydrant

Run fire flow assessments on every hydrant or junction simultaneously. epanet-js evaluates each location against three core criteria:

Available Fire Flow: Calculates the maximum discharge available at a node before the local residual pressure drops below your required minimum.
Needed Fire Flow: Applies a specific target draft (e.g., 1,000 gpm) to verify the actual residual pressure maintained at that location.
Design Fire Flow: Applies global constraints, ensuring that meeting a local draft doesn't trigger maximum velocity violations or minimum pressure failures in adjacent pressure zones or upstream mains.

The fire flow analysis panel configuring target flow rates, minimum residual pressures, and system-wide design constraints.

High-speed local simulations, zero manual setup

Evaluating fire flow across a distribution network shouldn't require complex batch configurations or dummy demand allocations. epanet-js automates the entire process, executing thousands of background simulations at hundreds of nodes per second—entirely on your local machine. You simply set your residual targets, and the software handles the iterative hydraulic solves.

Because it leverages the EPANET 2.3 engine with native support for Pressure-Dependent Demands (PDD) and emitters, the calculated flows reflect the true physical response of the system under stress, rather than an oversimplified fixed-demand approximation.

Generate pressure-flow curves for specific connections

When you need to evaluate a specific location in depth, the Pressure-Flow Analysis tool generates a comprehensive hydraulic performance curve. It models the system's response across a progressive range of flows (e.g., 0 to 2,000 gpm), plotting the exact pressure degradation curve at the node.

This provides an immediate, verifiable answer for developer inquiries—whether evaluating a proposed commercial connection, a new subdivision feed, or a fire sprinkler booster system. Because the results overlay visually, you can immediately identify the upstream pipes and valves causing the capacity constraint.

Visualize system capacity and export results

Both tools map results dynamically, highlighting capacity bottlenecks and robust pressure zones across the network. Instead of parsing dense output tables, engineers and master planners can visually identify exactly which mains and zones require reinforcement.

When it's time to document the findings, export the exact flow and pressure results directly to GIS layers (Shapefile/GeoJSON) or CSV. The data is immediately ready for master plan reports, municipal capacity registers, or developer response letters.

Fire flow analysis

Minimum pressure (m) 15

Junction	Available (l/s)	Status
J107	47.2	Pass
J67	30.9	Fail
J288	27.3	Pass

Core capabilities of fire flow analysis

Verifiable capacity answers

Determine the available fire flow at any hydrant or junction while ensuring residual pressures remain above regulatory minimums.

System-wide assessment in one run

Execute thousands of simulations locally in seconds, evaluating every hydrant automatically without manually editing junction demands.

Identify hidden constraints

The Design Fire Flow check flags upstream pressure drops and velocity violations, ensuring local hydrant compliance doesn't mask wider network failures.

Rapid capacity evaluations

Generate instant pressure-flow curves for any junction to support development inquiries, then export results directly to GIS or CSV.

Check your network's capacity in minutes

Run automated fire flow analyses on your own hydraulic model. Launch epanet-js, or book a demo to see it applied to your network.

Launch epanet-js

No login needed

Book a demo

Identify bottlenecks to prioritize capital upgrades

System-wide fire flow analysis provides a clear, quantitative map of network capacity. By identifying exactly where available flows fall short of regulatory requirements, utilities can prioritize water main upsizing, loop closures, and booster station upgrades based on hydraulic evidence rather than estimates.

Explore related modeling solutions

Fire flow analysis is one part of understanding network performance.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about fire flow and capacity analysis.

What is the difference between the two fire flow tools?: The System Fire Flow Analysis tests hundreds of locations simultaneously to map available, needed, and design fire flows across the entire network. The Pressure-Flow Curve Analysis evaluates a single specific node, generating a detailed hydraulic performance curve. Use the former to identify system-wide weaknesses, and the latter to answer localized development inquiries.
How does epanet-js evaluate different fire flow criteria?: The software automates three standard capacity checks in a single run: Available Fire Flow calculates the maximum flow before local pressure drops below your target; Needed Fire Flow tests the network against a fixed target draft; and Design Fire Flow ensures that meeting a local draft doesn't trigger velocity or pressure violations elsewhere in the system.
How fast is the analysis? Can I run every hydrant?: Yes. epanet-js processes the analysis entirely on your local machine using WebAssembly. It runs hundreds of nodes per second, executing thousands of automated EPS or steady-state runs to map the entire network almost instantly.
Can I export the fire flow results?: Yes. Results export directly to standard GIS formats (Shapefile, GeoJSON), CSV, or XLSX, ready for integration into capacity registers, master plans, or developer response letters.
Do I have to manually adjust demands to run a test?: No. The software automates the test setup, temporarily assigning emitter coefficients or demand spikes as needed. Because the EPANET 2.3 engine utilizes Pressure-Dependent Demand (PDD), the results accurately reflect the physical network's behavior under high-stress draft conditions without requiring manual demand workarounds.