Two widely used pump types in the fire service include Centrifugal Pump and which other pump?

• A. Piston pump
• B. Positive Displacement Pump
• C. Rotary pump
• D. Gear pump

Answer: (B)

The main idea is the two major pump families used in firefighting: centrifugal pumps and positive displacement pumps. Centrifugal pumps are dynamic, pushing water by converting speed into pressure and delivering high flow under favorable conditions. Positive displacement pumps move a fixed volume with each cycle, so they can reach higher pressures at lower speeds and handle suction and resisting flow situations more robustly. That broad category includes subtypes like piston pumps and rotary/gear pumps, but the important contrast is between the dynamic, high-flow behavior of centrifugal pumps and the fixed-volume, high-pressure capability of positive displacement pumps. So the other pump type commonly paired with centrifugal pumps in fire service practice is the positive displacement pump.