Business Sprinkler Alliance Highlights The Alarming UK Statistic That Only 15% Of New Schools Built With Sprinkler Systems

Of the 673 new schools that have been built and opened under the government’s flagship school program, only 105 were fitted with sprinklers. With hundreds of schools in the United Kingdom, witnessing a fire each year, this alarming statistic once again emphasizes that money spent on dealing with the aftermath of fires should be spent on sprinklers instead.

The Business Sprinkler Alliance (BSA) shares the concerns of Labour Party MP and former teacher, Stephanie Peacock, who stated “The ridiculous thing is that we spend far more rebuilding and repairing schools, after fires, than we would have paid to install sprinklers in the first place.”

Need for fire sprinklers in all schools

Measures, such as installing sprinklers, drastically reduce the amount of damage done, when there is a fire

School fires have a devastating impact on both, the school and the community. Measures, such as installing sprinklers, drastically reduce the amount of damage done, when there is a fire and enable schools to get up-and-running quickly, reducing the cost, both economically and socially, to the public.

On the 24th of April, the Selsey Academy opened the doors to its rebuilt premises, after a fire devastated the original school with no sprinklers, in August 2016. In the interim, pupils were taught in temporary classrooms, in four locations, in the Selsey area and a temporary school - portakabins, until the new school was completed. Sadly, the trust that runs it has confirmed that the new school has been rebuilt without sprinklers.

Installing sprinklers to protect assets

Commenting on the lack of sprinklers in schools, Iain Cox, Chairman of the Business Sprinkler Alliance (BSA), said “This is another case of value engineering, where the cost of installing sprinklers has been cut out, without any idea of the potential impact. Surely, it is better to protect the asset, so you won’t have disruption and the lost opportunity?”

Ensuring the safety of a building’s occupants is considered the bare minimum, under current regulations, but it is clearly not the optimal outcome. A sprinkler system would serve to protect both the occupants and the building, allowing students to return to normality far more rapidly and with considerably less disruption to teachers’ already hectic schedules.

Furthermore, the Association of British Insurers says that the most expensive school fires typically cost around £2.8 million to address and over the past four years, an average 24 of these large-loss fires have occurred every year, totaling £67.2 million in loses.

Sprinklers mandatory in schools in Scotland and Wales 

Sprinklers are mandatory in new school buildings in Scotland and Wales, but not in England and Northern Ireland

Currently, sprinklers are mandatory in new school buildings in Scotland and Wales, but not in England and Northern Ireland.

The government advises that even a single missed day of education can have significant effects on future exam results. The installation of sprinklers could limit the damage from fire, by significantly reducing the potential disruption to the students’ school life.

Sprinklers in commercial and industrial buildings

The same misconceptions about cost and the impact of disruption can be seen across the commercial and industrial sectors. The Business Sprinkler Alliance is calling for better education on the substantial benefits that fire sprinklers can deliver to the business community and the wider economy at large.

A fire does not discriminate, irrespective of whether the affected establishment is a school, a car park, warehouse, or office space, as fires happen on a regular basis anywhere. However, they can be contained and extinguished, by installing effective safety systems, such as sprinklers, in order to ensure that life is not put at risk and businesses, jobs and the economy are protected.