Greater Manchester Tall Building Kitchen Activation

Image credit Uk Sprinklers Ltd

The benefits of installing a life safety residential sprinkler system reducing the impact of fire as part of an appropriate package of fire safety measures on people, property and the environment was clearly identified following an apartment kitchen fire within a tall building tower development.

Extinguished by the activation of 1 concealed pendent residential sprinkler head with no further firefighting required from Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service with no injuries reported.Providing further evidence that the operation of a correctly designed and installed residential sprinkler system installed, maintained in accordance with the appropriate codes and standards.

• Reduces the rate of production of heat and smoke, allowing more time for the occupants to escape to safety or be rescued.
• Assist firefighters in carrying out search and rescue operations by limiting fire development, which significantly reduces the risk to firefighters.
• Contain/control or in some cases extinguish the fire.
• Are reliable and effective, providing adding further weight to the recent report conducted by ¹Optimal Economics, commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council, National Fire Sprinkler Network into the performance, reliability, and effectiveness of sprinkler systems in controlling and extinguishing fires.

The report found that:

1. Sprinklers are 99% efficient in extinguishing or controlling a fire.
2. Sprinklers are 94% efficient in their ability to operate.

The premises, 35 storey tower development containing 466 studio, one, two and three-bed apartments with ground floor commercial space.

The Incident

• Date of incident; November 2024.
• Time of call; 12:34.
• Incident; Fire.
• Address; Greater Manchester.
• Location of fire; Apartment, kitchen.
• Impact of AFSS; Extinguished.
• Number of sprinkler heads operated; 1.
• Fire Rescue Service; Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service. (GMFRS)

Summary of Incident 

• GMFRS mobilised to reports of a confirmed fire
• The incident commander established that the seat of the fire was within a one-bedroom apartment on the 17-storey involving a pan of oil which caught light on the cooker hob.
• The occupants self-evacuated their apartment with no injuries reported.
• 1 concealed residential sprinkler head activated
• Maintaining tenable conditions.
• Extinguishing the fire before the arrival of operational crews
• Containing the fire to the room of origin.
• Major protracted incident everted allowing FRS resources to be released, redeployed to attend emergency incidents.

The images of the incident, confirm that minor superficial fire, heat, and light smoke damage was contained to the room of origin.

Credit images Uk Sprinklers Ltd,

Sprinkler System

• BS9251:2014
• Category 2, 60 min run time
• Coverage, apartments only

The following advice is intended for building managers, individuals who have responsibility for fire safety within a building.

Premises Emergency Plan

The problem, post fire sprinkler activations reported where buildings have been identified as affected by water egress following the successful activation of the sprinkler system containing, controlling or in some cases extinguishing the fire, predominately due to.

• Poor business continuity management, inadequate onsite emergency planning by the building manager or responsible person for the fire safety arrangements within a building.
• Allowing onsite information to be available for firefighters to interact with the building active fire safety measures namely automatic water fire suppression systems.

There is now a high probability that firefighters will attend a variety of incidents where sprinklers systems are reported as present and having an impact within these types of buildings.

The provision of a robust emergency plan will allow an immediate emergency response to be actioned by the fire rescue service to assist in the management of water from the activation of the sprinkler system following a fire or even following the unlikely likelihood of un-intentional release of water, due to the knock-on effect this can have on a business or occupancy

Debunking the myth that water damage following the actuation of the sprinkler system will be more expensive than the actual damage resulting from the fire.

Reinstatement of the Fire Protection Measures

• It is paramount that fire protection measures in buildings can function effectively in the event of a fire. To achieve this the premises emergency plan should include that arrangements are in place allowing the immediate reinstatement of the sprinkler system.
• It is a requirement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order for the responsible person to implement the appropriate arrangements for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring of the preventive and protective measures.
• Any delay could compromise the safety of the occupants in the event of a further fire within the building due to the sprinkler system being offline.

Further detailed guidance on Sprinkler protected buildings can be found in the BAFSA Information file, A guide for Responsible Persons and Duty Holder.

Conclusion

This incident provides further evidence that the main functional objectives of a life safety sprinkler system were achieved

• The occupants were able to leave the building in reasonable safety
• Firefighters can operate without due risk to

1. Assist evacuation when necessary
2. Effect rescue when necessary

• Prevent conflagration
• Debunking the myth, residential sprinklers as an extinguishing media should not be used on

Fires containing cooking oils, BAFSA have released a comprehensive video that demonstrates the clear benefits of sprinklers involving chip pan fires, click here to open.  Fire statistical data collated from incidents attended by fire and rescue service involving dwellings for the financial year 2019/20 confirmed that 1494 incidents took place involving chip pan fires

Sources/further reading. 

• Sprinkler Saves Review 2023/2024
• Sprinkler Saves Summer Update No 6
• ¹Efficiency and Effectiveness of Sprinkler Systems in the United Kingdom: An Analysis from Fire Service data 
• BAFSA Information file, A guide for Responsible Persons and Duty Holder.
• GMFRS Benefits of Sprinklers

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.

 Credit to both GMFRS, Uk Sprinklers for reporting this incident allowing the benefits of sprinklers to be reported to a wider audience raising awareness of the good work that sprinklers do and help in our continued campaign to lobby government to introduce tougher sprinkler rules making the