Facts of Fire Sprinklers and Fire Systems

Fire Sprinkler System Facts

• The chances of a fire sprinkler head accidentally going off is extremely remote unless it's physically damaged.
• Fire sprinkler heads are heat-activated and smoke does not activate the fire sprinkler head.
• Each fire sprinkler head is rated for a certain degree depending on the building occupancy application. 
• Each fire sprinkler discharges individually, all fire sprinklers do not set-off at once.
• Residential fires are more often than not controlled with one fire sprinkler head.
• 92% of all fires are controlled with six or fewer heads.

Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems

The automatic fire sprinkler system is the most widely used fire protection system today. The whole philosophy of sprinklers is based upon the premise of applying the right amount of water in the seat of the fire, at the right time and as quickly as possible. Many ordinary hazard fire sprinkler systems for industrial and commercial buildings have a water tank and pump to guarantee adequate water flow and pressure. Most cities and counties provide adequate water supply for residential, industrial and commercial occupancies.

Semi-recessed Sprinkler

Fire Sprinklers

There are several types of fire sprinklers:

Quick response
Standard response
Residential
ESFR


Quick, residential and standard response fire sprinklers release 8 to 24 gallons of water per minute as compared to a fire hose that releases from 50 to 125 gallons per minute.

Concealed Residential Sprinkler

A quick response fire sprinkler is a fire sprinkler designed to react immediately upon sensing a fire and  are heat activated, where the heat from a fire melts a fusible link that allows the fire sprinkler spray to put out the fire quickly.Quick response sprinklers are normally used in residential or commercial properties, where standard response sprinklers are used in industrial occupancies.

Each fire sprinkler head is rated for a certain degree (see chart below), depending on the occupancy application. As soon as the surrounding temperature reaches the rated degree the bulb or fusible link will burst and thus operate the flow of water in the fire sprinkler system.

Fire Sprinkler Head Chart

Property losses are 87% less in residences with fire sprinklers compared to those without sprinklers.
Water damage from a home fire sprinkler system will be much less severe than the damage caused by water from fire-fighting hose lines or smoke and fire damage if the fire goes unabated.


Two common types of fire sprinkler systems

A wet fire sprinkler system is commonly installed in areas where the ambient temperature is above 32 degrees F.
The fire sprinkler system is constantly charged with water under pressure. When a fire sprinkler head is activated water instantly flows on to the fire.

A dry fire sprinkler system is commonly installed in areas where the ambient temperature is at or below 32 degrees F.
The dry fire sprinkler system is constantly charged with compressed air, which holds the fire sprinkler valve in closed position. When a fire sprinkler head is activated, the air pressure is lost, the valve opens and water flows into the system to the open sprinkler head and on to the fire.

Testing and Certification of Fire Sprinkler Systems

The laws set forth by your local fire department and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) protect you by making sure that all fire related systems are tested at regular intervals to insure proper operation of that system.

Certification of automatic fire sprinkler systems in most jurisdictions should be certified annually. Check with your local Fire Department or local building code enforcement department.

Should I have my fire sprinkler system tested?
YES.  Your local fire department will notify you  as to when and how often this should be done.  The minimum testing would be annually and the maximum would be quarterly.  Check with your local Fire Department.

Who can test my fire sprinkler system?
Only a certified technician can test and certify your fire sprinkler system.

There are many publications that can provide further details of fire sprinkler systems. Also, visit your local fire department for free consultation and advise or contact the National Fire Protection Association, they have valuable pamphlets with lots of information. If you contact a fire sprinkler contractor check with the your state to make sure they are licensed, bonded and insured.

Remember "Fire Sprinklers Save Lives"

Four Alarm Fire Near U.C. Berkeley

A four-alarm fire at a mixed-use building near the University of California at Berkeley took 6 hours to be contained early Saturday morning. No firefighters or other injuries were  reported as fire crews continued to tackle the fire the had spread and become a major fire.
The fire at the five-story building with 39 units on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street was first reported at 8:48 p.m. on Friday November18. As of 12:15 a.m. in the morning the fire had spread throughout the entire building and had not been contained according to reports by the Berkeley Fire Department.
A fire unit was at the scene by 9:00 p.m. and the fire progressed to a third-alarm fire by 9:15 p.m. Several local agencies had responded to the fire, including firefighters from Alameda County and Oakland.

The building has commercial space on the first floor and 39 residential units on the other floors. Businesses contained in the building include the long-time Telegraph fixture Cafe Intermezzo and Raleigh's Bar and Grill. Residents were evacuated, many residents found housing quickly, and the Red Cross was on hand to assist those who needed help in finding housing.

No reports if the building had any early warning fire alarm systems and or fire suppression systems
 

16 Dogs died in Kennel Fire

A fire killed 16 dogs, including puppies, Wednesday in a suburban breeder's backyard kennel, which an inspector later said was illegal.
Police said eight of the dogs were puppies under 5 months old.
Elmsford Fire Chief Richard Hoke said the dogs died in their cages and probably were killed by breathing smoke rather than by burns. He said no dogs survived the morning blaze in Greenburgh, about 25 miles north of Manhattan.
The fire destroyed the 20-by-20-foot shed behind a home.
Greenburgh police Lt. Brian Joseph Ryan who identified the owner, whom he said raises large Italian mastiffs of a breed known as the Cane Corso. It was not immediately known if all the dead dogs were that breed, but Hoke said they all seemed to be the same breed.
Greenburgh Building Inspector John Lucido said the kennel violated town codes because only three grown dogs are permitted per household and because a kennel business is illegal in the neighborhood.
He said the owner was warned about a similar violation in 2006, "but he brought the number of dogs down to be in compliance."
He added that his department had received no complaints since 2006.

Cane Corso puppies often sell for more than $1,000. masterk9rus.com, did not list prices but invited PayPal deposits on several dogs with names including Sparks, Hanibal and Movado.
"We aim to improve the Cane Corso breed," the website says. "Our dogs are family raised and bred for temperament, health, show and working capability."
Ryan said eight of the dead dogs were 5 months to 7 years old, the rest younger.
He said a preliminary report from detectives and fire marshals suggested the cause of the fire may have been a heat lamp or space heater, but the investigation continued.
Officials said they did not know if heaters were being used because of an electricity outage. A weekend snowstorm cut off power to many customers in the area.
No charges had been filed, Ryan said.
Ernest Lungaro, director of humane law enforcement for the Westchester County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the SPCA took two of the dogs for necropsies to determine the cause of death. He said the owner was cooperating with the agency's investigation into whether cruelty laws had been broken.
Ryan said the fire was reported to Greenburgh police just before 7 a.m. The Elmsford Fire Department was then called, although the fire was just outside Elmsford, in an unincorporated area of Greenburgh.

California Home Care Facility Fire

A fire at a California home care facility for the disabled has killed four adults and left two others hospitalized, authorities said Sunday.
The fire was reported at around 11:45 p.m. Saturday in Marina, a small coastal community in Monterey County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.
Three Marina police officers suffered smoke inhalation when they tried to rescue people inside the burning single family home, police watch commander Robin Nowak said. The officers have been treated and released.

The four people who were killed were residents of the home, Nowak said. Nowak didn't know who operated the home.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene Sunday. ATF officials didn't immediately return a call to The Associated Press seeking information on the investigation.
The fire was reported by a driver on nearby Highway 1 who saw the flames, Bay Area KION-TV reported.

The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 12:29 pm

Last Modified: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 2:06 pm

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The Scandinavian Star, The Nordic Empress and Fire Protection

The Scandinavian Star was a passenger ship and ferry with a route between Oslo and Denmark in the 1990's. During one of its routine voyages, a fire broke out on one of the decks. 158 people were killed in the blaze.

The Scandinavian Star was built according to fire safety regulations of the time. Unfortunately, these regulations did not require a fire sprinkler system throughout the ship. There was limited fire sprinkler systems installed in certain areas of the ship, including the car garage, the fire sprinkler system did not cover the entire ship. Firefighters later found that the fire sprinkler system had not been properly maintained, and that the sprinkler heads were plugged with rust.

The fire was started deliberately in a hallway. Passengers died taking shelter in cabins and attempting to escape through the halls to safer areas of the ship. The problem, of course, is that there are no safe areas on a ship when a fire breaks out. Passengers have nowhere to go in case of a fire.

That's why effective fire prevention is so important on seagoing vessels. Investigative officials, in charge with discovering the causes of the fire, strongly recommended that all seagoing vessels be fitted with a fire sprinkler system in the future. 

Today, high velocity water sprays combined with low water discharge rates are changing the way shipboard fires are fought.   

The eruption of a fuel fire in the engine room of the cruise ship Nordic Empress was controlled and extinguished expeditiously because of the swift activation of a water mist system designed to protect shipboard machinery spaces. This is the most recent success of high velocity water sprays combined with low water discharge rates.

Known as water mist systems, the technology is being installed on an increasing number of commercial vessels, especially cruise ships, replacing alternatives such as Halon-1301. The Navy is also using a water mist system on its new Amphibious Transport Dock ship, the LPD-17, it was delivered from the Litton Avondale Industries Shipyard in New Orleans in 2003.

 

Water has been the traditional fire-fighting agent for centuries, but too much water combined with inappropriate fire fighting techniques has had disastrous results.

Traditional water fire-extinguishing systems are based on water applied to a fire from straight hose streams or sprinkler systems. Typically, wet pipe sprinkler systems are activated when heat from a fire melts a fusible link in a sprinkler head allowing water to flow and spray into the area. Other systems, known as dry pipe, have open sprinkler heads and an electrically controlled main supply line valve controlling water flow to all sprinkler heads in the system. Both systems are designed to allow for a maximum volume of water to be discharged onto a fire area, effectively drowning the fire. The disadvantages of traditional water systems are that they can cause substantial damage to areas not directly affected by the flames and, for ships, jeopardize their buoyancy.

to be continued. 

www.chabre.net

Fire safety or the environment – is it necessary to choose?

Awareness of the fact that large fires may present dramatic and persistent adverse effects on the environment has risen since the occurrence of numerous high impact incidents over the past 25 years. Traditionally, discussion of the environmental impact of fires has focused on the emissions that fires can cause both to the air, water and soil; but in recent years a new debate has arisen where the impact of chemicals on the environment and the precautionary principle have taken precedence.

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