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Doncaster Tall Building Sprinkler Activation
April 8
- Date of incident;8 April 2024.
- Tine of call; 01:05.
- Location; Doncaster.
- Use of building; Purpose built block of flats 10 floors and above.
- Incident; fire.
- Location of fire; Hallway.
- Automatic Fire Suppression System; Sprinklers.
- Fire Rescue Service; South Yorkshire Fire Rescue Service. (SYFRS)
The Premises
- 14 storey residential block of flats containing 65 flats, retrofitted with sprinklers in 2019 as part of a joint initiative between SYFRS, St Leger Homes and Doncaster Council. Resulting in all three partner agencies working together allowing residential sprinklers to be retrofitted in all nine high-rise residential buildings across Doncaster.
The Incident
- Fire crews were mobilised to reports of a fire, on arrival it was identified that the location of the fire was on the 11th floor within a two-bedroom flat.
- The Officer in Charge committed a breathing apparatus team to locate the residents, extinguish the fire.
- Upon entry to the flat it was established that a fire within the entrance hallway had been contained, extinguished by the activation of 1 sprinkler head.
- No further firefighting media was required with no rapid-fire growth reported.
- Due to the location of the fire within the flat the occupants were unable to self-evacuate taking refuge in a room until operational crews arrived.
- No injuries were reported.
- Enquires are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire.
It should be remembered.
- The fire was extinguished, controlled within the compartment of origin by the activation of the sprinkler system.
- Minimal fire damage was reported within the compartment of origin.
- No further firefighting media was required.
- This incident demonstrates once again the effectiveness of sprinkler systems for high rise tall building fires as part of a package of fire safety measures.
Premises Sprinkler System
- BS9251:2014 Category 3 system supplied via pump and tank water supplies, duty and standby with UPS.
- Coverage: flats
This is the second reported fire for Shaftesbury House within two years, on both occasions the fire was fully extinguished by the activation of 1 sprinkler head potentially preventing a fatal fire. The previous incident took place on the 25 August 2022, involving a chip pan fire which overheated and set light. The resident was alerted to the fire by the activation of the premises smoke alarm. Upon arrival operational crews established that the fire had been extinguished by the activation of the sprinkler system, all persons were accounted for with minor smoke damage sustained within the flat.
Roger Brason, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s lead sprinkler advocate.
“When the sprinklers were installed at Shaftesbury House and other high-rise buildings in Doncaster, we said we were delighted, and this is why.
“Had it not been for the sprinkler system, this fire would have spread very quickly and could have caused significant damage to the property and, potentially, seriously hurt the occupant.
“Credit should also go to the working smoke alarms which alerted the resident who was asleep at the time of the fire. Together, these are two amazing devices.”
Links/sources
- Sprinkler Saves Review 2022/2023
- Sprinkler Saves Spring Update No 4
- SYFRS Press release Smoke alarms and sprinklers combine to Save Doncaster Resident
- Sprinkler Saves, Chip pan fire, Sprinkler Activation Doncaster
If you want to make a difference working in the fire sector, we need your assistance……
To make sprinklers the norm and not the exception – we need the evidence. Encouraging FRS and those in the sprinkler community to promote, collate, report sprinkler activations to Sprinkler Saves UK which will help to create a central and comprehensive record of fire incidents where sprinklers played their role in containing/controlling or extinguishing the fire.
If you hear of a save report it using this link.
