BAFSA member RSP Fire Sprinkler Systems has reported how a house fire caused by an accident involving a cigarette lighter was quickly brought under control by the actuation of a single sprinkler head.
The fire broke out on 18 November 2023 in a bedroom in a private home in the South Wales valleys. Not only was the fire quickly extinguished, but RSP Fire Sprinkler Systems said that they had completed a full reinstatement of the system within two hours of the call-out.
fire sprinkler systems
“In October 2013, The National Assembly for Wales passed legislation that requires fire sprinkler systems to be installed in newly converted houses and flats. Without this decision the outcome of this fire could have been so much different,” says BAFSA’s sprinkler ambassador Nick Coleshill who runs The Sprinkler Saves website that reports sprinkler activations across the UK.
As was the case at a tragic house fire in Hounslow, West London recently which resulted in the deaths of six people. Sprinklers are not mandatory for new and converted homes in England. Sprinklers are only required for life safety for new residential blocks with a top floor height of 11m above ground level.