Domestic Fire Sprinkler Systems have been used for many years in other countries; such as the United States, where many residential properties have been successfully protected for over 30 years. In the United Kingdom recent changes to legislation have prompted their greater use with the looming possibility of their compulsory use in domestic housing and apartments within 5 years. Already Scotland requires the compulsory use of fire suppression in care homes and similar properties.
Key Benefits are:
Limited use of fire doors and fire glass;
Sprinkler heads are unobtrusive; concealed by cover plates fitted flush with the ceiling. The plates can be made in almost all RAL colours and also in chrome and brass;
The requirement to provide secondary stairways to 4 storey houses and above, is waived;
Windows and ‘unprotected areas’ on boundary elevations may be doubled in area;
Open plan arrangements; including the use of concertina style doors, may be utilised giving greater freedom to your Architect or designer;
Your property may be built closer to boundaries;
Ventilated lobbies may be dispensed with in apartment buildings, even over 4 storeys, allowing increased utilisation of available space constraints;
Restrictive Fire Service access requirements can be overcome, allowing increased driveway distances and greater possibilities for back-land development;
Heads can only be activated where temperature exceeds 68 degrees Celsius; they cannot be set off accidentally by high ambient temperatures;
Only the sprinkler head nearest to the fire will be activated; there is no chain reaction!
They will definitely save yours and your family’s lives; nobody has ever died in a house protected by a properly installed fire sprinkler system!
Fire sprinklers don’t just save you money; they may well save your life!
