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Home » News & Events » 2014 » February » Fire Service supports National Sprinkler Week

Fire Service supports National Sprinkler Week

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The week-long national campaign has been launched at the House of Commons and starts today. It will raise awareness about sprinklers and focus on the protection they provide, not only to lives but also property and livelihood.

Adrian Elliott, Group Commander Community Risk said: “Sprinklers protect against the real cost of fires on people, their property, business sustainability, the wider community, environment and economy.” The Service will continue to encourage businesses, landlords and housing associations to consider new installations and also retro-fitting sprinklers in properties where people are most at risk from fire.

Staff from the Service will continue to engage with local businesses, raising the profile of sprinklers and dispelling some common myths, including;

  • When there is a fire all the sprinkler heads go off at once: Wrong, each head is independent and only the head(s) adjacent to the fire go off as the heads are activated by heat and not smoke.
  • Sprinklers can go off accidentally: Wrong, evidence shows that the chance of an accidental discharge from a sprinkler is approximately 16 million to one.
  • Water damage is as bad as the fire damage: Wrong, a typical sprinkler discharges 55 litres per minute. A firefighting hose discharges over 600 litres per minute. You can expect a sprinkler to discharge less than 5% of the water used by the fire service.

Sprinkler week 2014 is supported by the Chief Fire Officers Association and by Fire and Rescue Services across the UK.