Fire Sprinklers Save Derbyshire School

• Fire Rescue Service; Derbyshire Fire Rescue Service (DFRS)
• Date of incident; 22 May 2022
• Time of call 09:38
• Location; Glossopdale School and Sixth Form, Glossop
• Background; Purpose built new school occupied 2018
• Purpose group; Educational building
• Incident; Fire
• Location of Incident: Room
• Automatic Fire Suppression System (AFSS); Sprinkler System

DFRS, reported the above-mentioned fire sprinkler that clearly identifies the benefits of installing automatic fire suppression systems for schools.

On this occasion protecting this school, both in terms of life and property protection.

The Incident

The fire originated in a room located at the rear of the building which was extinguished before the arrival of DFRS. Two people with minor burns received hospital treatment as a result from the fire

It is reported that approximately 1m² of floor space damaged by fire, smoke damage contained to the compartment of origin

Automatic Fire Suppression System

• The system was installed to meet the requirements of BS12845
• Water supply via dedicated capacity tank/Pump, minimum duration of 30mins
• Two fire sprinkler heads actuated

Business Continuity

School fires have a devasting impact on both a school and a community, every year many schools are damaged or destroyed by fires, affecting the education of pupils across the country causing millions of pounds worth of damage.

On this occasion, the impact of this school fire was minimal due to the decision at the design stage to install fire sprinklers throughout the school: –

• Fire, heat/smoke damage contained to the compartment of origin
• Other locations within the school were unaffected
• Schools’ continuity allowing pupils/students to return to normality far more efficiently with considerably less disruption
• The school was closed for only 2 hours the following day allowing for minor housekeeping to be completed

When you compare this to the three major school fires in Derbyshire that were all severely damaged by fire in May/October 2020, where sprinklers were not fitted

•  St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, in Darley Abbey, 3 October 2020
• Ravensdale Infant School,  5 October 2020
• Harrington Junior school fire 28 May 2020

Credit image DFRS, Ravensdale Infant School

These fires have resulted in the agreement of a statement of intent, between DFRS, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council, surrounding sprinklers in new-build schools and those undergoing renovation, which should be applauded.

This incident clearly demonstrates the importance of protecting educational premises with AFSS:-

• Without the Fire Sprinkler System, there would have been significant damage to the school, potential risk of injury to members of staff, firefighters

Legislation

• Currently sprinklers are only mandatory in new school buildings in Scotland and Wales but not in England and Northern Ireland.
• Building Bulletin 100 (Design document for new schools) is currently being reviewed, highlighting that the sprinkler expectation will be removed. Our position is that that government explicitly maintains the sprinkler expectation in the revised BB100 publication so that fewer schools are damaged and destroyed by fire.

 Links

• BAFSA;-Sprinklers In Schools animation
• DFRS; Statement of Intent-Fire Protection measures in Schools
• DFRS; Press release
• NFCC; Sprinkler Tool Kit 2022