Appropriate design, construction and quality of fire protection installations ensure optimal protection of life and property. This is especially important where many people live every day - in public buildings, office buildings, logistics centers and industrial and commercial facilities.
Check out the NIBCO brand zone
Currently, more and more investors require fire protection installations with international certificates such as UL, FM or VDS. These are documents with a global reach and reputation, guaranteeing the highest quality and confirming the compliance of products with fire protection requirements. In addition to the guarantee of the highest quality, the above-mentioned certificates are required in the property insurance process and provide much more favorable conditions for concluded policies.
What are UL/FM/VDS?
FM (Factory Mutual) Global is an American company providing comprehensive insurance services. It is a global leader in third-party testing and certification services. 
The UL (Underwriters Laboratories) certificate confirms the product's compliance with the safety standards applicable on the American and Canadian markets.- VdS is an independent German research institution that certifies products in the field of fire protection and safety technologies.
National regulations, CNBOP - Fire valves
Before 2021, Polish regulations did not require certificates for elements used in the installation of fire protection systems (sprinklers and hydrant). The situation changed dramatically on January 1, 2021. From this date, before placing fixed fire protection devices on the market or making them available on the domestic market, the manufacturer is obliged to carry out a process of certification of constancy of performance.
This results from the regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Construction of November 17, 2016 (as amended) on the method of declaring the performance properties of construction products and the method of marking them with a construction mark. These regulations classified fire valves and most other elements of fire protection installations as construction products subject to the national assessment system - 1. In practice, this means that fire valves must have a National Technical Assessment and a certificate of constancy of performance issued by an accredited Certification Body.
NIBCO valves - certificates
NIBCO fire protection valves are UL and FM certified, and some models are also VDS certified. Additionally, NIBCO valves have National Technical Assessments and national certificates of constancy of performance issued by the Scientific and Research Center for Fire Protection CNBOP, an entity accredited by the Polish Center for Accreditation.
To obtain the above-mentioned certificates, NIBCO valves have undergone a number of tests and examinations confirming their properties and compliance with standards. These included tests of: resistance to hydrostatic pressure, vacuum and flow, mechanical strength, resistance to corrosion, wear and aging, pressure losses, and tightness.
Each year, each of these institutions conducts an audit of the production plants where NIBCO valves are manufactured. Below is an overview of three groups of NIBCO fire protection valves with both international certificates and CNBOP certificates of constancy of performance.
NIBCO butterfly valves
Dampers are commonly used in sprinkler and hydrant systems, both in pumping stations and in risers, as cut-off valves. To connect NIBCO butterfly bodies to pipes, use cast iron groove connectors (GD type butterfly valves) or attach them between flanges (WD and LD type butterfly valves). Maximum working pressure of the butterfly valves: 20.7 Bar (300 PSI).
NIBCO gate valves
NIBCO gate valves are used in fixed water fire-fighting systems or fire-fighting water supply systems as regulating and shut-off fittings. They are connected to the installation using flange connections. Type F-607-RWS is a flanged wedge gate valve with a rising pin operated by a rotary wheel. The valve stem is adapted for mounting a limit switch. Type F-609-RWS is a gate valve with a non-rising stem, designed for installation with a horizontal indicator column Type NIP-2AW (on a wall or ceiling) or a vertical indicator column Type NIP-1AU (underground use).
The maximum working pressure of gate valves, depending on their diameter, is:
- Gate valves from 2 ½” to 12” – 20.6 Bar (300 PSI)
- Gate valves 14”, 16” – 17.2 Bar (250 PSI)
NIBCO check valves
The non-return valve is an automatic shut-off valve. In this valve, the pressure difference opens and closes the flow.
A non-return valve is most often installed on the discharge side of the pump to prevent reverse flow and maintain system pressure when the pump is turned off.
As in the case of butterfly valves, they are connected to pipes using cast iron grooved connectors - G-997 check valve or mounted between flanges - KW-990-E-LF.
Maximum pressure of G-997, KW-990-E-LF check valves 20.7 Bar (300 PSI)