Arson or accident, every building owner is glad of the day when fire sprinklers prevent extensive damage to property. A few of recent incidents where sprinklers have saved a property are listed below.
The list is by no means every incident so we would like you to send in your reports of every incident, from either newspapers or personal involvement.
SPRINKLERS THAT CONTROLLED/ EXTINGUISHED FIRES
A document is available for your to fill in and email to the SES mike.green@hallfire.co.uk or print and fax back a pdf to 0161 794 4950 (PDF STOP REPORT) so we can keep the list upto date. Thanks for sending in all your reports so far.
30th May '07 Awesome result from sprinkler activation saved a building and possible further disruption to a city. Dale St in Manchester was the scene of a huge blaze which destroyed one building, The adjacent building was sprinkler protected by an old 29th edition system. 15 heads operated due to the radiated heat and kept the building cool perventing combustion and destruction. Water damage was significant but in this case a building was saved from almost certain destruction. Thanks to FVS for this report who have reinstated the system.
18th April '07 Grants entertainment centre in Croydon. The fire stated in Lloyds bar in the toilet. A youth lit the toilet paper and one sprinkler extinguished the fire. The character was caught on CCTV and detained by the police. The premises were temporarily evacuated, however no damage was sustained. Thanks To Blue shield fire for this report who reinstated the system within 4 hours.
9th April '07 Cottee fibres in Nottingham had a fire in a first floor rack, thought to be caused by vandalism. An open window enabled somebody to throw in a lit object. However two heads operated and and slight damage to stock occurred, with the system back on line in 3.5 hours
16th March '07 Chase plastics in Brandon had a fire in an extruding machine which was caused by dust. The sprinkler system was in the dry mode which is air filled over winter to prevent the pipes freezing. The air pressure drop caused by a sprinkler activating causes the water to rush into the pipework which then controlled the fire with two heads in operation.
3rd March '07 Cooper Tyres in Melksham had a fire a 22.45 in the rubber mixing area. Four sprinkler heads contained the fire, and only one machine was damaged. No doubt this could have been a headline story on the national news had sprinklers not been installed.
28th Jan '07 A commercial premises (Tops Estates Management) in a shopping centre on Chandlers Way in Northampton had a fire in a loading bay. It started in a skip placed their by builders but deliberately started by others (on the run). Three heads operated and the fire damage was restricted to a damaged light. The system was reinstated within 2 hours. Thanks to Northants Fire for this report.
2nd January '07 Birthdays card shop in the Swansgate shopping centre of Wellingborough was saved by a single sprinkler head. The sprinkler caused a considerable amount of water damage but the system was reinstated within 12 hours. No further derails are available.
11th November '06 A fire started in the printing room of R R Donenelly. The company is based in Knaresborough and is involved in printing/ packaging. The fire caused two sprinklers to activate and only one machine was damaged. The client isolated the system before calling his contractor to reinstate the system.
9th November '06 A fire started at JJB sports town centre shop in Preston LANCS, in the second floor stockroom. The fire was considered of suspicious origin, the seat of fire being found to be shoe boxes on storage racking within the 2nd story room. Two sprinkler heads activated. The damaged was limited to 20 boxes of shoes 100% damage, with moderate damage caused by smoke to the stockroom. Some water damage was also caused to the 2nd and first floor. The ground floor also sustained some water damage, this shop is owned by another outlet and was opened again within 24 hours and JJB was opened by the 11th.
1st September '06 a machine at Spafield Mill in Bately West Yorkshire caught fire, the mill was subdivided into units and the fire started in the rag area. One sprinkler head operated which was replaced by the client. No damage was caused to the building.
June '06 A gas heater overheated and caught fire at Hypnos in Princess Risborough, details are very thin but thankfully we know that no injuries or damages were caused, the fire being extinguished by one head.
 May '06 in Bergen Norway has probably been the site of a sprinkler activation and some equally poor police work. Allegedly the flat was "empty" but the fire was started by a cigarette?. It just a personal hypothesis but we must consider; lonely bloke playing computer games for three days and eating crisps then decides to have a cigarette. A bulb blew so he climbed onto the footstool, got electrocuted causing spontaneous human combustion, leaving only the shoe size of the poor unfortunate chap for the police to start their investigations.
Whatever the senario it highlights the need for sprinklers in occupied or unoccupied buildings of multiple occupancy. Any other possible suggestions for the series of events to webmaster@ses-uk.org.uk have a look at the photo supplied by Alan Brinson and send in your story.
The Mander Centre in Wolverhampton had a fire on 13th May'06, the centre is a multi level shopping centre and the fire took place in the underground service area.
A fire began at 3pm in a pile of wood and cardboard packaging, one sprinkler operated and the centre had to close early as a result of the fire. The system was reinstated the same day and the shops were all open again the following day. Thanks to Steve Mills of West Midlands Fire service for reporting the incident.
This report is courtesy of Stuart Lloyd who has sent in several reports over the last few months. As a result the SES are considering replacing its outdated tie with a new presentation lighter so all members can carry on the good work. But seriously this only proves the crucial link between insurers and the sprinkler industry and their clients, not only in fitting sprinklers but also adequately running and maintaining them.
This fire in April '06 was in an electrical switch room at a rubber / polymer factory in Hyde Cheshire. An MJC (multi jet control - a special sprinkler designed to operate dry within a room yet spray water externally to keep the building shell cool and allow fire fighters easier access to extinguishing a blaze with carbon dioxide or other similar extinguishing agents. Thankfully the alarms were raised too and a remote telephone monitoring system ensured a fast response. The small amount of damage was temporarily repaired before full repairs could be carried out over a bank holiday during a shutdown some weeks later.
On 12th April '06 in an architechtural antiques shop in Elland Leeds. The fire started in the varnish/ paint shop at 5.30pm. An extraction unit caught fire and led to 18 heads operating. This in itself is unusual as often fires are contained by one or two heads. There was some water damage to items in the shop however the system was reinstated within 4 hours. In such a high risk area this was no doubt a great relief to the owners that their building and business was saved by another successful sprinkler operation.
Corby In Northampton on 4th April '06. A residentail block of flats No's 24-31 had a fire in the bottom of a stairwell which destroyed a wheelie bin and damaged some electrics. Corby Council reinstated the electrics in the stairwell within the hour and residents were also allowed to return to their homes within the hour. Sadly it took 6 days to reach agreement as to who was responsible for the sprinkler system before a new bulb was sucessfully reinstated.
In March '06 a strange series of events led to a fire being extinguished and some criminals being caught. Some youths decided to try and gain entry into a textile company, presumably with the aim of setting fire to it. After not gaining access they decided to set fire to some pallets under a canopy outside. Two sprinklers operated and a remote telephone system called the police and fire brigade the fire was extinguished and the youths arrested. Thanks again to SL for this interesting story.
A recent stop comes from Cwmbran in South Wales on 18th March '06. A fire was deliberately started in a cleaners cupboard in a town centre shopping complex at approximately 15.40hrs. One sprinkler head activated and extinguished, although the fire, the store closed for the Saturday, it was reopened on Monday for its next day of trading. Thanks to Gareth Lloyd of South Wales Fire and Rescue for this report.
15th February '06 a fire started in a racking system that contained paints in Stowmarket. The fire was extinguished by an EFSR sprinkler system, with two heads operating, the fire was fully extinguished using a hose reel and powder extinguishers. Mike Green has kindly provided an in depth report on the situation. The file is pdf an will open in a new window. ESFR CASE STUDY
On 6th February '06, a bearing in a H&V duct motor had siezed causing it to overheat and set on fire. A 68 degree sprinkler head operated and actually fully extinguished the fire. There was minimal damage and the area was operational in a few hours once the head was replaced. Thanks to John Fitton for this story.
On 31st January '06 in Oundle in Northamptonshire. The modern industrial building which was single storey had a mezzanine level. An area in the workshop area of the mezzanine caught fire and was halted by one sprinkler head and fully extinguished by the brigade. The system also gave a warning that a fire was in progress and the building was quickly reoccupied after 12 hours.
A incident was reported in the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield on 13th Jan '06. A freezer caught fire in Pizza Hut and was extinguished by one sprinkler head. The store was reopened after 3 hours once the head had been replaced.
On 22nd December '05 a bedding factory in West Yorkshire had a small fire. The fire was caused by a thermal bonding machine igniting some cardboard on the floor. The building was saved by 3 sprinkler heads and the fire was fully extinguished by the brigade with one hose reel.
Had the fire destroyed the building the estimated losses were over 1 million pounds, however only £2500m of stock was lost and production was quickly continued in an other part of the factory.
A sprinkler stop was reported by Ashley Gorton on 9th December '05 in a Newport retail shop. The fire occurred under the shop at 9pm and the fire was extinguished by one sprinkler head. Only slight smoke damage occurred and they managed to reinstate the system for the next days Christmas shopping
Thanks to Howard Pilling for a story from the states, this is of particular interest as somebody has taken some snaps of the event.
Here is one picture , but for the full story please follow the link.
US building and business saved
 MILNROW FABRIC FACTORY
Over 20 staff were evacuated when a machine caught fire at a Milnrow fabric factory.
Fire crews were called to the blaze involving a device which is used for dyeing material at Vitaluxan,lower lane mill Milnrow.
No one was injured during the incident which occurred early Sunday morning. Matt Dwyer said that although there was extensive damage to the machine further damage to the factory was prevented by the factories sprinkler system.
He said;'The fire was quickly extinguished'.The rest of the factory is now fully operational while the area affected is cleared for immediate repair.
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