The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster has passed, yet debate surrounding building safety best practice continues. Last year, the UK Government announced steps to further reform the building safety system with what it described as ‘the biggest changes in a generation’ to ensure the safety of residents in their homes.
Within these new measures, mandatory sprinkler systems and consistent wayfinding signage were announced in all new high-rise blocks of flats over 11 meters tall. In this article, Ian King delves a little deeper into the efficiency of sprinkler systems and fire safety.
Containing a fire – active and passive protection
The aim is to compartmentalize the fire and the most commonly used passive examples are fire doors and walls
Once a fire is fully developed in space, fire resistance is delivered by the set of products and technologies attempting to contain the fire where it started, and slow further spread, often through a combination of ‘built-in’ or passive fire protection, along with active protection measures (those triggered by an action such as sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms).
The aim is to compartmentalize the fire and the most commonly used passive examples are fire doors and walls. Some fire protection options combine active and passive fire protection, but usually, a product will be designed to protect using one approach. This article will focus on the active fire protection option, sprinkler systems.
Sprinkler system
Not all active fire protection requires human intervention, as some systems are automatic. Even then, the human element is never truly removed.
There’s no doubt that having a sprinkler system trumps not having one, that’s just common sense. But, to see the full picture, we do need to look a little closer at the complexities of installing, maintaining, and, most importantly, testing a sprinkler system. Are sprinklers a fool-proof solution? Or is there more to it?
Installation, the ins, and outs
Sprinkler systems require high levels of water pressure and consume a lot of energy
Installation of sprinkler systems is often seen as costly. However, it could be argued that they’re somewhat less costly than fire damage. So, although cost can be a consideration it should certainly not be a priority.
In addition, sprinkler systems require high levels of water pressure and consume a lot of energy. When things go wrong, there’s potential for flooding, as demonstrated in a San Francisco residential tower which was evacuated when 20,000 gallons of water poured through the building. While not a typical system malfunction, this highlights the potential for damage from sprinkler systems, which is more likely to happen if poorly maintained, which leads to the next point.
minimal maintenance
An advantage that is always cited with sprinkler systems is minimal maintenance. However, this is a point this industry must disagree with.
The legislation and thought processes around protection must continually be challenged. To put it into perspective, the FPA reports that just 20 sprinkler heads in 5,000 are required to be tested by law, this leaves a huge margin for error and equipment failure.
Testing
Contrastingly, in the U.S. all sprinkler heads must be tested annually. What’s more, it is important to question how sprinkler systems are tested in the short, medium, and long term.
Especially considering they’re most likely never turned on in situ, in a simulated emergency, because of the resulting water damage. The installer may not know they don’t work correctly until it is too late.
Sensor
Every sprinkler has a sensor, every sensor has to work, and every sensor has to be checked frequently
Every sprinkler has a sensor, every sensor has to work, every sensor has to be checked frequently, and every sensor has to trigger a response from a control system for the full protection to be working correctly. Many things can impact this, including anything from an electrical fault to dirt, paint, and dead insects around the sensors can affect this chain reaction.
Once more, the reliance is on human knowledge and proactive intervention, to make sure that checking and problem resolution is done fully and correctly. This does not happen automatically.
Service and maintenance of sprinkler systems
There are also other important parts of sprinkler systems that need to be maintained and serviced. Not long ago, in January, a fire in the Cape Town parliamentary precinct was caused due to a faulty sprinkler control valve. The sprinkler system had not been serviced since 2017, showing plainly that this kind of negligence can lead to catastrophe.
The industry must be held accountable and key operating parameters like cleanliness, water pressure, and corrosion are traced and checked both before and after installation and regularly in use. So if it does need additional work, everyone is aware before it’s too late.
do sprinklers alone stop the spread of fire?
There have been over 1,000 ‘failures to operate’ which accounts for 82.6% of sprinkler system failures in the UK
Research to support sprinkler systems was conducted by the National Fire Chiefs (NFCC). It covers effectiveness using collated data from fire services across the UK to analyze sprinkler system efficiency and failures.
Interestingly, this study shows a big difference between commercial and residential failures. It’s very clear that in a residential environment, sprinkler systems have proved that with the correct installation, usage and maintenance they are a very reliable solution. However, in a commercial context, there have been over 1,000 ‘failures to operate’ which accounts for 82.6% of sprinkler system failures in the UK during the period analyzed.
Challenging the industry’s attitude?
The industry cannot fall into the trap of thinking that sprinklers are the answer to all of our fire protection problems. Not only is this a dangerous attitude, but it also promotes laziness in innovation and new product creation in an industry that already has a reputation for being resistant to adaptation and change.
There is also much to be gained by looking overseas for guidance on the use of sprinkler systems. For example, France has already mandated sprinkler systems in all commercial buildings over 3000m2, while in England and Scotland the same only applies to new warehouses over 20,000m2. There is a glaring opportunity to learn from international partners in the fight against fire and prevent problems elsewhere from reoccurring in the UK.
Fire protection knowledge
A resistant mindset when it comes to change also allows those designing and building homes and businesses to get away with limited knowledge of fire protection.
If they’re not being forced to think about it at the design stage, they can wrongly rely on only ticking ‘fire protection’ boxes, with an over privileging of active suppression like sprinkler systems rather than ‘building in’ passive fire protection. This approach means things will never change in the way they should. Fire is a systemic problem, and no single solution is the fix.