As with everything else the fire department has to have tested, fire pumps is another one on the list. Failure of a pumpcan be just as detrimental to firefighting as a hose line rupturing while fighting a fire. If the pump is not operating effectively you are not going to provide enough water to put out the fire.
To effectively test a fire pump, the entire process will take about an hour to complete. This includes items such as recording neccesary information about the rig and test day conditions, conducting the dry vaccum test, hooking up all the necessary hoses and gauges, and finally conducting the actual pump test. All of these items are covered in the NFPA 1911, Chapter 18 regulations.