FOCUS
Maintaining performance Following the Grenfell Tower fire and the call for mandatory sprinkler installation, Paul Berry explores four key focus areas for system performance
generally, but particularly on the role that sprinklers play in fi re suppression and the regulations surrounding their installation. In the months since the tragedy, senior personnel in London Fire Brigade (LFB) have openly called for the mandatory installation of sprinkler systems in all high rise residential buildings, emphasising their importance in fi re safety efforts. This has been echoed by Leicester City Council, which was to begin work1
S in January
to install sprinkler systems in its residential tower blocks, and Manchester City Council, who recently confirmed2
plans to spend
over £10m fi tting sprinklers in 36 high rise residential blocks across the city. The official inquiry into the Grenfell
disaster – while not expected to publish an interim report until later this year – will look into existing legislation and regulations on sprinklers, and review in great detail what went wrong in the months leading up to the fi re.
40 FEBRUARY 2018
www.frmjournal.com
INCE THE devastating Grenfell Tower fi re in June 2017, there has been an increased focus on not only fi re safety
The consequences of neglecting sprinklers when implementing fi re safety plans has only now come to light, and this much is clear: sprinklers save lives. For both fi re and security professionals and building managers, it’s high time not only for review and reappraisal, but also for action – they must safeguard employees by ensuring that sprinkler systems exist in any and all buildings, and that they are both effective and compliant. While the regulatory discussion surrounding sprinklers is relatively new, the technology behind them has been mostly unchanged for decades now – a temperature of more than 68 degrees Celsius causes a bulb in the nozzle to fracture, discharging water through the sprinkler. The quicker this happens, the better, and this hardware has been proven to work by controlling or ideally extinguishing a fi re as soon as possible. A fully functioning and well maintained sprinkler system should prevent fires from ever getting out of control, and these basic components do succeed in preventing further damage. But what measures can fire safety and suppression teams put in
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