Note for Guidance

The Fire Safety Advice Centre

Residential Sprinklers

Introduction

When fire sprinklers were first invented 140 years ago the Insurance Industry was quick to recognise the benefits of a fire sprinkler system and they encouraged the development of the emergent Industry and still do to this day. However their interest was in property protection so the life safety aspect of fire sprinklers was ignored until recently. In 1973 the America Burning report was published in the USA. It identified the fact that over 75% of all fire casualties occurred in the home and amongst other things it recommended the development of a residential fire sprinkler system.

Summary of Domestic Sprinklers

All fires start small but they grow very rapidly. If a fire can be detected soon enough, and fought immediately, it will take surprisingly little water to control it. But if it is allowed to grow unhindered conditions in the room of origin will become un-survivable within a few minutes. The key to controlling a fire is quick reactions. Normally without sprinklers the first you might know about a fire is when a smoke alarm goes off, or someone spots the fire. A call has to be made to the Fire Brigade, who can usually get to you within 15 minutes or less. When they arrive it then takes a couple of minutes to set up their equipment and so the fire may have had some 20 minutes from the initial alarm to really get a hold. What was a small fire has become a major one.

With a life safety sprinkler system, if any of the sprinkler heads detects a fire, it immediately starts to spray water on the fire and an alarm is sounded to warn occupants to escape. Life safety sprinkler systems usually put out the fire, but should this not happen the system will control the fire, slowing its growth and reducing toxic fumes. So the Fire Brigade will have a much simpler task when they arrive and much less damage will have been caused. Most importantly the occupants will have had time to escape or be rescued and the firemen will not have to risk their lives. A life safety sprinkler system is designed to use just enough water to control the fire. Typically a life safety sprinkler head discharges 40-45 litres of water a minute compared to a fireman's hose at perhaps up to 1,000 litres a minute. This minimises water damage and turns a potential disaster into just an inconvenience.

Ten things you should know about Fire Sprinklers…

• Fire Sprinklers are far and away the most efficient and effective safety devices known, having a better than 99% success rate in service worldwide.
• Fire alarms by themselves can only warn of fire and depend on someone calling the Fire Brigade. Fire Sprinklers not only warn of fire they also act immediately to extinguish the fire, even if no one is present.
• Over 50% of all fire casualties are either young or old, or physically incapacitated and cannot help themselves. Fire Sprinklers, even if they do not put out the fire, will at the very least raise the alarm and extend the time available for escape or rescue.
• Fire in the home is responsible for over 75% of all fire deaths and injuries in the UK. Your chance of experiencing a serious fire in the home in your lifetime is around 1 in 5.
• Residential Fire Sprinkler are not expensive, costing typically £1/sq. ft. in new homes, less than 2% of the cost of an average new house, or about the cost of carpeting a house but, unlike carpets, they are designed to last at least 50 years.
• Fire Sprinklers are very reliable. Statistics show the chance of finding a defective sprinkler head is 1:16,000,000 (one in sixteen million). Less than your chance of winning the Lottery.
• Houses which suffer major fires are seldom able to be lived in afterwards and are often demolished. Rooms protected by fire sprinklers can usually be back in use within a few hours, and the rest of the house is usually unaffected.
• Each sprinkler is individually triggered directly by the heat of a fire and will have reacted long before the Fire Brigade is even called. Only the sprinkler directly affected by the fire goes off , using typically 10 gal/min of water to control the fire.
• Sprinklers use between 1/25th and 1/100th of the water used by EACH Fire Brigade hose - so in the event of a fire water damage is minimised. In fact sprinklers use even less water than this because they tackle the fire immediately, when it is still small. Smaller fires need much less water to control them.
• Modern Residential Sprinklers are small, neat and unobtrusive and visitors are seldom able to spot them. They are available in a variety of finishes and colours to suit any decor, and are even available in concealed versions.

Statistics

• Statistics for 1997 (the latest official figures available) show that there were 117,000 fires in buildings, which resulted in 730 deaths and 18,600 injuries during that year.
• Of these fires - 72,000 were in dwellings, and these caused 560 deaths and 14,900 injuries. These statistics clearly show that your home is a dangerous place.
• In fact fires in the home account for over 60% of all building fires and over 75% of all casualties. You are three times more likely to die in a fire at home than anywhere else.
• After 10 years of falling numbers, fatal casualties have now increased for 3 years in a row. At the same time the number of non-fatal casualties continues to grow, having increased by more than 50% in the last 10 years.

Additional Information.

Code of practice for Sprinkler systems for residential and domestic occupancies. BS 9251:2005

The Residential Sprinkler Association (RSA) has a website devoted to this subject and has for more detailed information than I can provide. The RSA represents a wide variety of people and organisations committed to promoting the wider use of fire sprinklers for life safety. They include, Fire Brigades, Sprinkler head manufacturers, Pipe and fittings manufacturers, Most of component manufacturers used in fire sprinkler systems, Sprinkler Installers all across the country and Consultants all dedicated to reducing fire casualties. Visit their site below

The Residential Sprinkler Association (RSA) Website.

A guide on the installation of resisdential sprinklers by Copper Development Association UK

Copper Development Association UK

This handout provides a general overview and basic information on this topic. It may not apply to everyone, consequently to find out if this guide applies to you and to get more information on this subject, study all the relevant legislation, guides and British/European Standards. Also you should seek advice from an expert on the subject or your local Fire Safety Officer or Fire Safety Professional.

The Fire Safety Advice Centre. Permission is granted to print and photocopy this material for nonprofit educational uses.

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This page was last checked and modified on Tuesday, 14 October, 2008 22:32