Goodwill advice
Safeguarding people from the danger of fire in their homes and places of work is an emotive subject and unfortunately, fire services experience the consequences of failure on a regular basis.
Generally, through the application of approved guidance documents and the enforcement of regulations, it is reasonable to assume that acceptable levels of fire safety within Warwickshire are being provided. However, there are some factors particularly at the planning stage where the minimum standards fall short of what we consider being adequate.
Common areas of concern are:
- planning applications in some rural areas where the response time of the nearest fire appliance can be up to 20 minutes
- buildings where the ability of the occupants to respond to the effects of fire and successfully evacuate is compromised by their circumstances, for example restricted mobility
- the minimum access requirements for fire service vehicles cannot be met
- the risk profile of the building will be unknown until somebody moves in
In circumstances where the above areas of concern exist, the fire Service recommends the installation of a fire suppression system such as an automatic sprinkler system.
It has been said that a building with a suppression system is like having the fire service in the premises 24 hours a day. Here are the facts:
Effective
Fire sprinklers are by far the most efficient and effective safety devices available, having a better than 97% success rate worldwide.
Life safety record
In the UK, statistics show that there has never been a multiple loss of life in a fully sprinklered building.
Early alarm
More than 50 per cent of all fire casualties are either young, old or physically incapacitated. In conjunction with smoke alarms, fire sprinklers sound the alarm when they go off so they increase the time people have to escape or be rescued.
Inexpensive
Residential fire sprinklers cost less than two per cent of an average new house.
Reliability
They are designed to last for 50 years and the chance of accidental operation, due to manufacturers’ defects, in service is 1:16,000,000 (one in sixteen million).
Operational facts
Each sprinkler is individually triggered by the heat of the fire and the system will gain control of the fire long before the fire service is called. Fire damage is contained to the room of origin. Only the sprinkler head near to the fire goes off not all of them.
Limited water damage
Sprinklers use up to 90% less water than the fire service. Because the sprinkler system tackles the fire immediately, it only has a small fire to deal with. In the event of a fire, the use of sprinklers will help minimise water damage.
Easy to install
Modern residential sprinklers are small, neat and unobtrusive and visitors are seldom able to spot them, with concealed versions are now available.
Construction trade-offs
Sprinklers can save on construction costs because, under the building regulations, larger compartments or rooms may be constructed. Structural fire protection can also be reduced.
Further guidance on residential sprinkler systems can be obtained by contacting:
The British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association
Telephone: 01353 659 187