Nottingham School Fire Sprinkler Activation

• Fire Rescue Service; Nottingham Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS)
• Incident; Fire
• When; 17 March 2023
• Time of call; 14:00
• Where: Sneinton, Nottinghamshire
• Occupancy: School, academy

NFRS have reported the following Nottingham Academy fire resulting in the school commercial sprinkler system activating that clearly identifies the benefits of installing fire suppression systems for schools.

Nottingham Academy is a large academy built on two campuses with a capacity of 3750 pupils, it is one of only a handful of schools in the country with its own nursery, primary, Secondary and Sixth form provision.

The Incident

• Fire crews were mobilised from Carlton, London Road and Stockhill Fire stations.
• On arrival, operational crews identified that a small fire in the nursery office was contained and extinguished by the school’s sprinkler system.
• No injuries were reported.
• The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Watch Manager Wiggan said: “There was only slight fire damage to the room of origin at the school due to them having the correct sprinkler system in place. Without this, the fire could have spread rapidly and put the school at risk.”

They tell a story………….

The reporting of sprinkler saves tell a story bringing the incident to life, this incident clearly demonstrates the benefits of sprinklers for both life and property protection.

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.

When you compare this to a recent school fire in Yatton Bristol on the 29 May 2023 where sprinklers were not fitted, the outcome on this occasion was that the school was destroyed by the fire.

The image speaks a thousand words………

Image credit Avon Fire & rescue Service

Legislation, did you know it is mandatory for all new schools in Scotland & centrally funded schools in Wales to be fitted with sprinklers. This is not the case for England, current guidance when first released in 2007, acknowledged the important role of sprinklers and stated that “all new schools should have fire sprinklers installed except in a few low-risk schools”.

Unfortunately, it is possible for designers and developers to circumvent the installation of sprinklers but still improve areas by using other building design guidance. The outcome is new- built schools without fire sprinklers being installed.

Did you know 219 primary and secondary schools were damaged by fire in 2021/22 in England which is an 35% increase from 2020/21.

Further Guidance

• BAFSA:- Sprinklers in Schools Animation
• BAFSA:- Sprinkler saves review 2021/2022
• NFCC Sprinkler tool kit 2023
• NFCC sprinklers in schools position statement
• NFRS press release
• Bristol Live, fire destroys primary school