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FHC Fire sprinkler hydraulics for Windows

Hydraulic calculations that show their working.

Firefinch FHC lays out, solves and reports fire sprinkler systems. Every report records the calculation program, the exact engine version and a fingerprint of its inputs, so a reviewer can retrace any number on it.

Download for Windows See how we verify

64-bit Windows 10 or 11 · 30-day trial · Works offline · Metric and imperial

Plan of a sprinkler zone A riser feeds a cross-main with eight branch lines of four sprinklers each. The six most remote sprinklers form the design area. Flow runs from the riser along the cross-main and up the last branch line to the most remote sprinkler. ZONE 2 LEVEL 1 · +0.00 m · TOP-2D DESIGN AREA · 72.0 m² DN 65 · C 120 DN 25 HEAD 32 RISER · SUPPLY 0 5 m
Fig. 1 Firefinch FHC finds the most demanding design area when you solve, then checks every sprinkler in it against the limits you entered. Illustrative drawing.
  • Hazen-Williams and Darcy-Weisbach friction
  • Global Gradient network solver
  • Solver checked against EPANET 2.2
  • Metric and imperial
  • Runs offline
Firefinch FHC

From design basis to signed report, in one program.

Firefinch FHC follows the order you already work in. Each step hands the next one something you can check.

  1. 01

    Set the design basis

    Enter the design values and limits from the code your project runs on. Each zone keeps its own design basis, so one project can hold areas of different hazard.

    Gives: density, area, duration, limits
  2. 02

    Draw the network

    Trace over a PDF drawing, place sprinklers and pipes, or fill a zone outline with Lay out sprinklers. Work floor by floor on levels and check the runs in 3D.

    Gives: a network per zone
  3. 03

    Solve and size

    Solve finds each zone's most demanding design area and checks every limit you set. Auto-size proposes pipe sizes, and nothing changes until you apply them.

    Gives: pressures, flows, verdicts
  4. 04

    Report

    Export a report for the authority having jurisdiction. It records the calculation program, the engine version and a fingerprint of the inputs behind it.

    Gives: a report a reviewer can retrace
Use it with NFPA 13 SANS 10287 EN 12845 FM Global Your own limits
How we verify

Every number has a paper trail.

Sprinkler calculations protect lives, so you should not have to take ours on trust. This is how we check Firefinch FHC, and how you can check it yourself.

Checked against EPANET 2.2

We check the solver against EPANET 2.2, the US EPA's open hydraulic solver, on a set of reference networks, and compare the results on every change.

Verified before every release

The verification suite runs on every proposed change and again on the release build. A change that moves a verified number fails the checks, and cannot be released unless the record is deliberately changed and reviewed.

Stamped on every report

Every report records the calculation program, the exact engine version and a fingerprint of its inputs.

No result without proof

When Firefinch FHC cannot establish a number, it stops and tells you why. It never prints a best guess.

Every quantity carries its unit

The engine solves in SI, with units checked wherever values enter it. Conversion to kPa, bar, L/min or gpm happens once, on screen and in the report.

Methods shipped with the program

The calculations reference comes with Firefinch FHC, under Help. It documents the methods, formulas and constants the engine uses, and the assumptions the reviewing engineer should confirm.

CALCULATION RECORD Printed on the report
Calculation program
hydraulic.network.gga 1.4
Engine version (this calculation)
0.28.0
Law
Hazen-Williams
Units
Metric
Input hash
9c41e07b2d5af318
Fig. 2 The provenance rows every report prints. Illustrative values.
Firefinch FHC does
  • Solves the network and reports every pressure and flow
  • Finds the most demanding design area in each zone
  • Checks each result against the limits you entered
  • Proposes pipe sizes for you to accept or reject
  • Records the program, engine version and inputs behind every report
The reviewing engineer decides
  • Which code and edition apply to the project
  • The design values and the limits to check against
  • Whether to apply the proposed pipe sizes
  • Whether the design is right, and signs it off
In the box

Built for real projects, with many zones, one pump and late changes.

Project

Many zones, one file

Each zone keeps its own criteria and design area. Solve one zone, or all of them in one pass.

Supply

One pump, every zone

Solve-all checks each zone against the shared pump curve and names the zone that governs flow and the one that governs pressure.

Solve

Design area search

Firefinch FHC finds the most demanding area at Solve. Pick your own and it is compared against the one it found.

Size

Auto-size pipes

Proposes sizes against your velocity and pressure limits. You review them, then apply them as one undo step.

Layout

Lay out sprinklers

Fills a zone outline with the fewest sprinklers that meet your spacing and coverage limits, then connects them to the main.

Drawing

Trace over PDFs

Load the architect's drawing as an underlay, set its scale, and draw the network straight over it.

Pipe

Pipe catalogue

46 pipe types and 472 sizes, each with C-factors for SANS 10287 and for NFPA 13 wet and dry systems. Pick a pipe by the size you order it by, or add types of your own.

Automate

Command line and Python

Run solves and exports from scripts, and batch the repetitive parts of a large project.

Works with AI tools

Ask your AI assistant to do the drafting.

Firefinch FHC connects to the AI app you already use. It can lay out a zone, size the pipes and run the solve, while you keep every decision.

  • Off until you switch it on. The connection starts off every time Firefinch FHC opens.
  • Runs on your computer. Firefinch FHC talks only to the AI app installed on the same machine.
  • Every change is visible. Each step shows in Firefinch FHC and can be undone like your own edits.
Claude Desktop Claude Code ChatGPT with Codex VS Code Cursor Any MCP client
You

Fill Zone 2 with sprinklers, connect them to the main on Level 1, then propose pipe sizes.

  • ✓lay_out_sprinklersZone 2: 18 sprinklers on 3 branch lines
  • ✓solveZone 2 solved, design area found
  • ✓propose_pipe_sizes9 pipes changed, all within your velocity limit
  • ○apply_pipe_sizesWaiting for you
Assistant

Zone 2 now has 18 sprinklers on three branch lines off the main. The proposed sizes keep every pipe within your velocity limit. Shall I apply them?

Fig. 3 An AI app driving Firefinch FHC through its tool connection. Illustrative session.
Pricing

Try it on the samples. Pay when it earns its place.

Explore
Free
No card, no time limit

Open the sample projects and see all of it: inputs, network, results, the report and its calculation record.

  • Bundled sample projects, read-only
  • Every screen and the full report
  • Solve and export unlock with a licence
Download for Windows
Solo
At launch
Per engineer, billed yearly

One engineer with the whole program, including the AI connection and the command line.

  • 30-day trial
  • Works offline, checks the licence about every 30 days
  • Move your licence to a new computer yourself
  • Updates for the year
Start a 30-day trial
Practice
Talk to us
Several engineers

Licences for a design office. Tell us how many engineers you have and how you work.

  • Everything in Solo
  • One account for the office
Contact us

If your licence lapses, your files stay yours. You can still open, view and re-export your own projects. New solves wait until you renew.

Prices exclude local taxes. Our payment provider works out any VAT or sales tax at checkout and issues the invoice.

Questions

Before you install

Which codes can I use Firefinch FHC with?

Any code that sets limits Firefinch FHC can check. You enter the design values and limits from your governing code, such as NFPA 13, SANS 10287, EN 12845 or FM Global data sheets, and Firefinch FHC computes the actual values and checks them against your limits.

Who is responsible for the results?

The reviewing engineer. Firefinch FHC guarantees its arithmetic and lets anyone reproduce it. It does not certify that a design complies with a code, and results stay in working state until they are signed off.

Does Firefinch FHC work offline?

Yes. Firefinch FHC runs fully offline and checks the licence online about once every 30 days.

Does my design leave my computer?

No. Your projects, crash reports and logs stay on your computer. Firefinch FHC uses the network for two things only: checking the licence, and checking for and downloading updates. The AI connection runs inside your computer, not over the network.

What do I need to run it?

A PC with 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. Firefinch FHC does not run on a Mac.

How do I get help?

By email. The support address goes up here when Firefinch FHC is released.

Support covers whether the software works: installing it, using it, and fixing problems in it. Whether a design is correct or meets a code is for the reviewing engineer, and we do not advise on it.

Routine replies, such as confirming we have your message or pointing you to the right part of the user guide, may come from an AI assistant. Everything else is answered by a person.

What happens when my licence lapses?

You can still open, view and re-export your own projects. New solves and new reports wait until you renew.

Gooey Goat

Engineered to flow.

Gooey Goat makes calculation software for fire and building services engineers. We start with life-safety hydraulics, and we hold our work to the standard we expect of yours: show the method, prove the number, keep the record.

Firefinch FHC is our first program. More building services tools will follow, built on the same verified engine.

Download Firefinch FHC How we verify

info@gooeygoat.com