Fire Sprinklers News from Google

August 2011

London Fire Brigade report on a fire in a care home in Croydon on 16 August 2011 and recommend that sprinklers should be fitted in such premises. The brigade's prompt response was fortunate in that a fire appliance was already in the area attending to a vehicle and rubbish bin fire.

Eight fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to a fire in a care home on Leafy Way on Addiscombe Road in Croydon in the early hours of 16 August. The two storey building was badly damaged by fire. Six people were rescued by firefighters (three via ladder and three via an internal staircase) and a further ten people were led to safety by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus. Seven people were taken to hospital by ambulance. The police were also on the scene.

Watch Manager Danny Kelly, from Woodside fire station, was in charge of the first fire engine to arrive at the scene, said:

“We were out dealing with a bin fire and a car fire in the local area when we noticed smoke pouring over the rooftops. We got into the fire engine and went to investigate. As we got closer we saw flames and smoke shooting out of the care home and realised there people inside. Crews quickly got to work rescuing people and putting out the flames. This was a challenging job due to the intensity of the fire and the number of people involved but all of the firefighters involved worked incredibly hard.”

The building did not have sprinklers. While not always required by regulation, sprinklers keep people and properties safer and can reduce the cost of repairing fire damage. For more information on the benefits of sprinklers go to www.london-fire.gov.uk/sprinklers.asp.

The Brigade was called at 0103 and the fire was under control by 0401. Firefighters are likely to remain at the scene of the fire for the rest of the morning. Firefighters from Woodside, Croydon, Norbury, Addington, Beckenham, Mitcham and Bromley were at the scene. The Brigade’s fire investigators are working with the police to investigate the cause of the fire.

June 2011

A recent report from The Fire Protection Research Foundation finds thatwater used for firefighting in homes without fire sprinkler systems can be up to 1200% greater than the water discharged by a fire sprinkler system.

Read the summary and access the whole document Residential Fire Sprinklers - Water Usage

February 2011

Sprinklers in Wales

On the evening of 16th February 2011 , the Welsh Assembly voted unanimously to require sprinklers in all new housing. The law will apply to new houses, flats, care homes and university halls of residence. Wales is the first country in the world to introduce this requirement.

Ann Jones, Assembly Member for the Vale of Clwyd, who proposed the legislation, said afterwards, "Not many of the votes we pass here save lives - that one did." The measure was backed by all three fire and rescue services in Wales, by the Chief Fire Officers' Association, the Fire Brigades Union and many others, including the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, the National Fire Sprinkler Network and the European Fire Sprinkler Network.

Once the vote was passed, there was a huge cheer in the Assembly. This is a major advance for the use of sprinklers and means new homes in Wales will be much safer than those built in the past. All involved should be congratulated, in particular Chris Enness of the Chief Fire Officers' Association and Ronnie King of the National Fire Sprinkler Network. The legislation will now go for Royal Assent in April. Meanwhile its detailed implementation will be prepared in the form of a regulation.

This can only lead to the inevitable widespread acceptance of sprinklers as a solution to non compliant designs where an alternative way of satisfying part B of the building regulations (which deals with fire precautions and resistance) is sought.

January 2011

Sprinklers extinguish fire in residential house

A house in Trowbridge escaped being badly damaged by fire last week, thanks to an innovative fire safety system.

The Studley Green estate was the first housing development in Europe to be fitted with domestic sprinklers, following its rebuild in 1999. On January 6, a property in Kingswood Chase had its sprinklers activated when fire broke out in a first floor bedroom. Two crews from Trowbridge fire station were called to the address at 18:38, but found the blaze had been extinguished by the sprinklers. As a result, the fire damage was minimal, and there was no risk to the house occupants, who were downstairs at the time. Although the exact cause of the fire remains unclear, there were no suspicious circumstances.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service actively lobbies for the inclusion of sprinkler systems in domestic and commercial properties. Chief Fire Officer Andy Goves said: "This is the third time that the sprinklers at Studley Green have done their job, and it is heartening to know that so little fire damage was caused. It is quite clear that this would have developed into a significant fire had the sprinklers not activated, affecting the bedroom and potentially the whole top floor of the house."

He added: "Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is a key campaigner for the National Fire Sprinkler Network, which is lobbying to have sprinkler systems installed in schools, care homes, houses of multiple occupation, multi-storey residential premises and commercial premises. In Wiltshire we have had a number of local successes, but this latest fire shows that no-one can afford to be complacent

Decembers 2010

Fatal Care Home Fire in Germany

Der Spiegel reports that a fire in a home for the elderly in Nuremberg in Germany has killed an elderly woman and injured four others. The fire started in the evening on 13th December and was caused by a power socket extension. 80 fire-fighters in 30 vehicles attended and evacuated 20 residents. The damage was estimated at EUR100,000.

On 6th December a fire in a home for the elderly in Wurzburg killed three residents. More than 100 residents were evacuated by the fire brigade. According to the Wurzburg Fire Brigade Chief, Franz-Josef Hench, the fire alarm operated and the fire doors closed. There were also regular evacuation drills performed with the fire brigade.

Neither home was fitted with a sprinkler system. Eugen Brysch, the chairman of the German Hospice Trust, said that there should be sprinklers and smoke detectors in the rooms.

Against these tragedies, the local press in Kiel reports that a fire in a clothing shop in the LEIK shopping centre on 8th December was extinguished by the sprinkler system. The fire alarm operated at 05:00 but the fire was out when the fire brigade arrived. Damage was very limited and the shopping centre opened as normal.

November 2010

Legislation for Mandatory Fire Sprinklers

On the 24th November 2010 the Welsh Assembly approved the principles for legislation for mandatory fire sprinklers to all new dwellings in Wales.

It is expected for this to come into force sometime in 2011 and the general view is that it will be the test bed for rolling out the same requirement throughout the UK when part B of the building Regulations is amended in 2016.

The ball is now firmly in the court of the sprinkler industry to both help developers to integrate fire sprinkler technology into their developments, and to help designers to trade off other requirements so that the sprinkler installation costs less than the savings on other requirements thus making the final product safer AND MORE ECONOMICAL.

If we can help developers overcome their fears and concerns by partnering with them and giving good guidance we can deliver this product for the benefit of all concerned leaving the end product a better safer environment.

Nationwide Fire Sprinklers already installs into 4 storey dwellings for many national and regional house builders at sub £2000.00 per unit, and we expect to be able to protect 2/3 bedroomed 2 storey dwellings for no more than £1400.00 per unit on reasonable sized developments in the future.

There are now thousands of dwellings and care homes in the UK with sprinkler protection. Our own company does in excess of 500 homes a year and some 40 care homes and we are one of several good quality well qualified and third party accredited businesses in this industry providing a service to the construction industry.

NO ONE HAS DIED IN THE UK IN A DWELLING WHICH HAD FIRE SPRINKLER PROTECTION IN PLACE DURING A FIRE EVENT.

July 2010
Fire destroys retail warehouse except where sprinklered

René de Feijter of Efectis reports that a retail warehouse in Schijndel, The Netherlands was destroyed by fire on 10th June. The retail warehouse was owned by Boerenbond and mainly held gardening and pet products. All but one part of the building burned to the ground. The surviving part was a store for up to 1,000kg of fireworks. The fireworks store was sprinklered and suffered little damage as the photograph from René show. One shows the e fireworks store after the fire outside amid the ruins of the rest of the retail warehouse.

Since the tragic fireworks fire in Enschede in 2000, which killed 23 people and injured 947 others, fireworks in The Netherlands must be kept in special stores that are also sprinklered. In this recent fire the fire brigade temporarily evacuated nearby people from their homes as a precautionary measure but the sprinkler system and fireworks store did their job.

April 2010
Norway Introduces Major New Sprinkler Requirements

At the EFSN conference in Brussels it was announced that the Norwegian government has approved new sprinkler requirements. From 1st July this year, all new housing units of more than two storeys will have to be fitted with sprinklers. This will affect almost all new apartment buildings.

In addition new hotels, new hospitals and new care homes must be sprinklered. Norway already leads Europe in the use of sprinklers per thousand inhabitants. This change will, over time, make Norwegian homes, hotels and healthcare facilities the safest from fire in Europe.

Norway has a commitment to Universal Design, by which is meant that housing should be suitable for all Norwegians. Not all Norwegians are able to respond to a fire alarm and leave the building. Sprinklers will enable them to stay in their homes until the fire brigade arrives. If they are in the room where the fire starts all they need to do is get to another room and close the door. Even if they cannot get out of the room the sprinkler system gives them some chance of survival.

Alan Brinson
Executive Director
European Fire Sprinkler Network

April 2010
Innovative Under Stairs Water Storage Tank

This month Nationwide Fire Sprinklers have launched our latest product. It is a space saving water tank that fits under the stairs.

Water storage tanks are required in some properties which do not have satisfactory mains water supply. These innovative, space saving under the stairs tanks hold approximately 480 litres of water.

2 tanks can be fitted under a standard domestic staircase providing the full water requirements for a domestic installation.

April 2010
Sprinklers for all new homes in Wales - The Journey

Groundbreaking legislation giving the go-ahead for sprinklers in all new homes in Wales is expected to get approval in the coming weeks. Ann Jones reflects on the journey.

See full report from FRM Journal

Jan 2010
Welsh Assembly Votes Yes to Sprinklers in New Homes

Welsh Assembly Members voted unanimously today voted in support of Ann Jones AM’s bid to make the installation of sprinkler systems mandatory in Wales’s new homes.

The Vale of Clwyd AM’s proposal has been described as historic by Chief Fire Officers across Wales and numerous organisations in the Fire Safety field including the National Fire Sprinkler Network.

See more of Welsh Assembly Votes Yes to Fire Sprinklers in New Homes