Sheffield hospital healthcare laundry room fire

The effectiveness of sprinklers were clearly demonstrated following a fire caused by an industrial gas powered ironing machine which suppressed and extinguished the fire before the arrival of South Yorkshire Fire Service, no further action was required.The outcome of could have been so different if sprinklers had not been installed. During 2008/2009 five significant fires took place involving healthcare premises in London which resulted in partial or full evacuation.

Following these incidents NHS London published the report “Review of five London hospital fires and their management” which illustrated  the critical importance of being prepared for emergencies. None of the five sites had AFSS installed at the time of the incidents,

Disappointingly an opportunity was lost as the report made no reference to the benefits/impact  that the installation of AFSS may have brought to these incidents.

The impact of fire on UK hospitals and healthcare premises is significant. Data sourced by NHS Digital confirms there were 1701 fires in all trusts in 2015/16  and 1462  fires in 2016/17. Mental Health Trusts accounted for 1138 or 67% of fires in 2015/16 and 895 or 61% fires in 2016/2017. Over these two years, 88 people were injured in NHS Trust fires, with 64 of these people being injured in fires related to Mental Health Trusts. There were four deaths in trust fires, three accounted for by Mental Health Trusts. Further guidance on sprinklers in healthcare premises can be found in the Welsh Health Estates Guidance Note:Sprinkler systems in healthcare premises