Fire safety is important, but where do sprinklers fit in?
Should all buildings have a sprinkler system? The short answer? Yes. At least in our opinion. A commercial fire sprinkler system protects lives and property. The longer answer? It’s not always required, but why take the chance?
Legally, your building may require a commercial fire sprinkler system depending on its size and usage. Both cities and states have specific regulations regarding sprinklers. It’s important to understand that the legal requirements represent the minimum that needs to be done to protect yourself. Insurance companies also have additional requirements, and a general sense of safety might prompt you to want to look into a commercial fire suppression system. But why are sprinklers so important?
They fight the fire while it is small.
A sprinkler head is designed to go off when it senses the heat from a fire. Each head that is near enough to the fire to be activated by the heat will go off. A widespread fire isn’t needed, and unlike alarms which only warn, a sprinkler immediately works to put out the fire.
They react quickly
Dramatic reduction in heat, flames, and smoke with the use of a fire sprinkler system.
They work.
The NFPA reports that between 2010 and 2014, fire sprinklers controlled the fire in 96% of the fires in which they operated.
They are safe for your buildings
Every sprinkler contractor knows the frustration of watching a movie where all the sprinklers in a building go off simultaneously after an innocent move, like pulling the fire alarm, causing massive water damage. That is a complete myth. Only heads activated by the heat of the fire will go off. According to the NFPA, only one sprinkler head operated in four out of five (79%) fires in which sprinklers operated. In 97% of fires with operating sprinklers, five or fewer heads operated. That’s a lot of safety for minimal clean up.
At Elite Fire, we believe that fire safety is priority number one for businesses. If you are interested in a sprinkler design, contact us and we can discuss your options for a high-quality design.
