Myths & Misconceptions

Despite the proven effectiveness of sprinklers, there are a number of popular misconceptions.........

Myth.

    "When there is a fire all of the sprinkler heads go off together." - NO!

Fact.

Sprinkler heads are set off individually and directly by the heat of the fire and therefore only the head/s directly affected by the fire are triggered.

Myth.

    "Water from the sprinklers will cause more damage than the fire."- NO!

Fact.

Typically the Fire Brigade uses as much as 100 - 1,000 times more water to put out a fire than is delivered by a sprinkler head. Residential Sprinklers typically use only about 60 litres of water a minute. 1 sprinkler head will usually control a domestic fire and 4 an industrial fire. Because a sprinkler attacks the blaze directly and immediately when it is still small, it only needs to use a small amount of water to control the blaze. The Fire Brigade, however quickly they can respond, will have to deal with a much bigger fire by the time they arrive on the scene and therefore will have to use much more water to control it.

Myth.

    "A smoke detector/fire alarm will provide enough protection."- NO!

Fact.

Certainly operational smoke detectors and fire alarms can save lives, but they do nothing to extinguish a growing fire, or to protect those unable to escape such as the disabled, infirm, elderly and children. Smoke detectors are now installed in over 80% of all UK homes, but although fire deaths have fallen by 24% in the past 10 years, injuries have increased by 62% to 18,600 in the same period. Smoke alarms on their own are patently not enough, especially for the vulnerable in our society.

Myth.

"Sprinklers can go off accidentally."- NO!

Fact.

Tests in service over the past 10 years show that the chances of a defective head are approximately 16,000,000 to 1; slightly longer odds than your chance of winning the Lottery. But this includes all type of defects including cosmetic defects, therefore the actual chance of an accidental discharge is considerably less.

Myth:

"Sprinklers are only designed to protect property, and are not effective for life safety."- NO!

Fact:

Sprinklers provide a high level of life safety. Statistics demonstrate that there has never been any multiple loss of life in a fully sprinklered building. Property losses average 85% less with fire sprinklers compared to those without sprinklers. The combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems in all buildings and residences could reduce overall injuries, loss of life and property damage by at least 80%.