Many councils are planning to
install sprinklers in high-rise buildings in England. This follows a call to
improve fire safety in residential buildings in light of the Grenfell Tower
tragedy. Yet, there is evidence to suggest that sprinklers are not the best
solution for improving life safety.
Sprinklers can reduce the heat
output from a fire by containing its growth, however the main problem for means
of escape is smoke. Sprinklers have been shown to reduce overall smoke
toxicity, however for the critical period when persons need to escape this
reduction is not enough to maintain tenable conditions. In some cases, the time
for smoke toxicity to reach a critical level is not very different from an
unsprinklered fire.
Studies show that the risk of death
from fire affects mainly the most vulnerable - those who cannot self-evacuate -
often including elderly or disabled people living in social housing. Thirty per
cent of fire-related fatalities in 2017-2018 were from gas or smoke, one of the
immediate and early dangers from fires.
Although sprinkler systems can improve fire safety and prevent property damage, they can take a long time to operate because of the
time it takes to heat the ceiling bulbs to the trigger temperature of 57°C. The
time it takes to warn residents of a fire is crucial to vulnerable residents in
social housing when self-evacuation is
not always an option.
Plumis have developed Automist Smartscan Hydra, a watermist
system which can raise an alarm and tackle a fire up to two minutes earlier
than sprinklers. That’s a significant amount of life-saving time when it comes
to limiting exposure to toxic gases and enabling safe evacuation from high rise
buildings.
Where as water in its large droplet form is only recommended for type A fires - those caused
by involving organic solid materials such as wood, cloth, paper, plastics, coal
- Watermist technology is capable of tackling the other common domestic fires types as well
as those involving electrical equipment. Although traditional sprinklers provide suppression eventually on
oil fires, anyone close to a pan of oil underneath a sprinkler when it
activates is at risk of burns.

Another significant consideration
when it comes to improving fire safety in high-rise buildings is cost. Research
in ‘The effectiveness of sprinklers…’ suggests that residential sprinklers are
generally not cost-effective for life safety. The Automist can be installed with
reduced plumbing requirements. A tank or commercial water supply is not
required, and it uses flexible hosing so
does not have to be fitted in the ceiling. If councils are intended on
improving fire safety, many residential buildings will be to have systems
retrofitted, which poses a significant and unique challenge for many buildings.
As the Automist uses a method of intelligent
targeting to locate a fire it can direct the water exactly where it’s needed
with no wastage. The high momentum spray targets even shielded fires. This kind
of fire suppression technology is good news for high rise buildings which can
prove to have more complex needs for protection. It ensures the water supply is
not exhausted, prevents false activation. When activation does occur it
causes minimal damage with minimal clear up.
Many organisations have been
piloting the Automist to improve fire safety, with over 10,000 installations in
the UK and US already. The wall-wall-mounted spray head has enabled them to
avoid asbestos while retrofitting the system, something which is often
prevalent in older buildings.
Student accommodation in Sheffield
has also retrofitted the system to protect the properties from false alarms and
unnecessary damage. The double knock activation reduces the likelihood of false
alarms and the pump causes minimal damage to an affected room after activation.
Goodridge Freedom House USA is an
IIIB building that serves as a museum displaying precious items that belonged
to the house with office space
above. They fitted the Automist to prevent large water damage in the
event of activation. Its targeted heat detection
system means that a fire is dealt with in the specific activation area,
avoiding damage to unaffected areas of the precious building.
How we live in our homes and the
fire risks we put into them is ever-evolving. The fire safety industry is
striving to protect and save more lives from dangerous fires. Many more councils are following suit to
install this innovative technology to protect social housing.
Particularly where retrofitting is required in residence of vulnerable persons,
the type of fire suppression systems installed needs to be carefully
considered.
To learn more sign up for the free Automist webinar:
https://www.gotostage.com/channel/624d16a3195d4dc88ee751c594377586
https://www.gotostage.com/channel/624d16a3195d4dc88ee751c594377586
No comments:
Post a comment