Facts surrounding Fire Sprinklers

Around 75% of fires occur in the home. Fire sprinklers have a 99% success rate in reducing the spread of a fire, preventing death or serious injury, protecting property and reducing building damage.

Smoke from the fire itself along with the water damage caused by the fire fighting hoses usually means that the residents have to find somewhere to live temporarily whilst their home is repaired and re-decorated following a fire. These repairs can be time consuming and costly. With a fire sprinkler there is far less water damage as the sprinkler head closest to the fire is activated when it reaches a certain temperature and puts the fire out quickly. There is usually very little water or smoke damage and the property is often habitable within 24 hours.

Installing a Fire Sprinkler system is the most cost-effective way to protect your property from a fire. Domestic and residential sprinkler systems have a lifespan of around 30-50 years.

How Ultrasafe operates:

Quotation – We provide a fully costed quotation which we believe will be the optimum solution for your property.

Design – We’ll create the fire sprinkler system you need at the most cost effective price.

Installation – We’ll work with you to install your system on time and on budget.

Commission – Our engineers will test the system to make sure it works perfectly before signing it off.

Servicing – we will carry out an annual service to ensure your system is fully operational. For example; a service on a 6 sprinkler head system takes around 90 minutes and costs less than £250.

Why should you install sprinklers?

Fire Sprinklers, and other Automatic Fire Suppression Systems (AFSS), can save lives, homes, and businesses. They provide protection from fire damage and, most importantly, they give people a greater chance of getting out if there is a fire. By reducing the damage and severity of a fire, they can also save money, too.

Who are Fire Sprinklers good for?

Everybody. Though there are some organisations, groups and property types who could particularly benefit from sprinkler installation. These include:

Schools
Care homes or places where people with any mobility issues live
Heritage buildings
Hospitals
The homes of very vulnerable people
Specialist housing
Residential properties over 18m in height – including student accommodation
Hotels, B&Bs, Air bnb’s and hostels
Complex and deep sub surface structures such as basements
Large warehouses
Firefighters – sprinklers significantly reduce the risks to firefighters

How do Fire Sprinklers work?

Fire Sprinklers react to heat. When the temperature in a room fitted with a sprinkler reaches 60 – 70 degrees, the sprinkler will spray water across the room and suppress the fire that has caused the rise in temperature.

Unlike in the movies, you don’t get a series of sprinkler heads activating at once, flooding the building, with our fire sprinkler systems water damage is minimal. Sprinklers are triggered one by one, sprinkler head by sprinkler head. If the temperature directly below a sprinkler head reaches around 68 degrees Celsius that head only will activate and a single head activation is usually sufficient to extinguish the fire. The average area of fire damage in dwellings not fitted with sprinklers is 18-21m²; while in dwellings where sprinklers are present, the average area of fire damage is under 4m²*.

Fire Sprinkler Systems for people with limited mobility

Sprinklers can give a person with mobility issues a lot more time to escape if there is a fire, which is the main issue when even a small fire occurs. As well as safety benefits, there’s a business case, too. Having sprinklers fitted in care homes or specialised housing can safely allow for a reduction in night staff, so reducing the businesses costs.

Statistically speaking, vulnerable and older people are at the greatest risk of fire death. The right sprinkler system can reduce fire risks for people with limited – or no – mobility.

Fire Sprinkler Systems for Businesses

Warehouses, local authorities, hotels, heritage buildings can all benefit from fitting sprinklers in their properties. Sprinklers can provide time for staff and customers to escape if a fire breaks out. They also protect the properties themselves from further fire damage. Case studies consistently show a significant reduction in business interruption when a fire is controlled by a sprinkler system.

Typical water supply options:

Mains Fed

Direct from the water main, this is the most cost effective solution and would typically need to be a 50mm MDPE unmetered supply to provide the required flow/pressure.

Dedicated Pump and Tank

A storage tank and booster pump to meet the requirements of the system. Tank sizes can vary depending on the system category and type of sprinkler heads used.

Shared Booster Cold Water Supply

It is possible to share the domestic cold water supply which can be a very cost effective solution on larger projects. Please note the pump and tank would need to be sized adequately