Domestic Sprinklers

Sprinkler Technology is over 125 years old. It has grown and been adapted to modern risks but when comparing a 100 year old sprinkler with a brand new one, they are very similar. The first sprinkler system installed in New Zealand was at the Northern Roller Milling Company, in Auckland in the year 1889(1).

Because sprinklers are nearly as old as organised Fire Brigades in New Zealand (1879) the success of systems throughout the twentieth century is well documented. These systems were mainly installed in commercial and industrial buildings. Where they were installed, there was a decrease in the frequency and extent of losses of life or property due to fire. Only three lives have been lost in sprinkled buildings in New Zealand, and in each case the person was the origin of the fire.

When sprinklers were first suggested as a means of addressing the life safety issues in houses, it was discovered that the type of sprinklers used in commercial buildings did not operate early enough to ensure life safety. Conditions developed that would seriously jeopardise survival in the room in which the fire originated. The main problem was ensuring that a sprinkler designed to save lives would operate earlier than a sprinkler designed for property protection; the critical factor being how quickly water could be applied to a fire rather than how much.

In New Zealand, an average of 40 deaths occur each year from fire. A good proportion of these occur as a result of fires in cars, aeroplanes and other modes of transport. The table above gives a breakdown of the number of deaths as a result of fires in buildings in New Zealand. It should be noted that after a steady decline in deaths 2001/02 was a ‘poor year’ with 28 deaths in building fires, but the worrying statistic is that nearly all of these fatal fires (95% of them) occurred in the home. In all of the fatal fires Peter MENZIES attended in his career in the New Zealand Fire Service, he acknowledges that all of the fatalities could have been prevented had domestic sprinklers and smoke alarms been installed.             

Why is that??      Deaths from fires are more common in the home because:

1. It is where we spend most of our time and where we sleep. Most deaths occur between 10pm and 6am.
2. People are more relaxed and therefore less guarded in their own homes.
3. There are many ignition sources in the home, including behaviour related causes (smoking materials are the documented causes of many fires).
4. Homes are filled with many combustible fittings and furnishings, resulting in high fire load when compared with other building types.
5. Soft furnishings are typically made of man-made materials (plastics and foams) that provide comfort and warmth, but burn faster and hotter than wood or natural fibres.
6. Fires produce gases that are harmful when inhaled, causing most victims to succumb to smoke inhalation.
7. Fire safety for other types of buildings is regulated, requiring them to meet strict fire safety criteria. There are few regulations for detached dwellings (apart from boundary separations and escape route limitations).

Statistics indicate that over a five year average, the most frequent rooms in a house for fires to start includes the kitchen, lounge and bedrooms for nearly 55% of incidents. When it comes to fatal fires, 96% of them start in these rooms.

In the year 2000, BRANZ led further research into sprinkler systems for houses. As a result of this, in 2003, BRANZ were able to establish a course for plumbers, building contractors and designers who wished to become qualified in the design of domestic sprinkler systems.

Peter Menzies has attended this Course and was awarded a BRANZ Certificate in Domestic Sprinkler Design. Fire Risk Management Limited have formed strategic partnerships with appropriate Companies to offer clients the complete ‘service’, from design through to installation and certification.