Introduction
Our gratitude to The London Fire Brigade (LFB) for their ongoing support, playing a key leadership role in promoting the benefits of fire sprinklers by the reporting of sprinkler activations, rising to the call from the National Fire Chiefs Council who actively encourage fire rescue services to collate, provide fire data and case studies to Sprinkler Saves UK. Reporting incidents taken from the Incident Recording System (IRS) for the month of October 2024 where sprinklers were reported as present and having an impact in Greater London.
Raising awareness of how the destructive effects of fire can be mitigated, and in most cases, be prevented through the enhanced use of sprinklers, and other forms of Automatic Fire Suppression Systems (AFSS) which save lives, protect firefighters, homes and businesses as part of an appropriate package of fire safety benefits.
London Fire Brigade
LFB Is one of the largest, firefighting, community safety rescue services in the world protecting residents and property in Greater London as well as those who work or visit the capital. They report attending 126,464 incidents of which 16,120 were fires for the year 2023.
London
As the capital of the United Kingdom, London is also the largest city with a population of just over nine million and is projected to reach 10 million by 2035. It is home to one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world. There are 32 boroughs in Greater London, except for the City of London which is a county and government district. The risk from fire in the capital is diverse, ranging from large industrial premises, complex retail shopping centres, major transport hubs, and large high-rise residential developments. The latter is a key area as half of the population of London live in flats compared to less than 20% in the rest of the country.
The Review
The incidents contained within this review are collated from the Incident Recording System (IRS) for the month of October where AFSS were reported as present and having an impact in Greater London.
Incident Recording System (IRS)
When a household or business has made an emergency fire call, key information around the incident is captured, inputted daily into the IRS by the officer in charge of the incident using software forms structured into logical groups. For the most severe fire incidents the senior fire investigation officer compiles a report that details the findings of the investigation and the most likely origin and cause. Once completed, this officer reviews and where necessary updates the IRS record to reflect the findings of the investigation.
Each group contains questions in data fields with associated lists containing the appropriate answer options. Data collected about serious reportable fires include:
The importance of monitoring AFSS incident data has been acknowledged by the inclusion of the active safety system field focusing on the following performance characteristics of AFSS fire data.
The IRS data captured is dependent on the fire officer who inputs the data and their training, experience of AFSS and commitment to complete reporting. Not all fire officers might be able to identify the difference between a sprinkler or water mist system or take the time to count the number of sprinkler head activations before leaving the scene.
The use of IRS data plays an important role in promoting the benefits of AFSS as part of a combination of fire safety measures to reduce the impact of fire on our communities, property and the environment, while assisting fire firefighters in carrying out search and rescue operations by limiting fire development.
It should be remembered the installation of a life safety sprinkler system is to reduce the rate of heat and smoke, allowing more time for the occupants to escape to safety or be rescued.
The provision of a sprinkler system does not neglect the need for other fire practical precautions or provisions where the person is at higher-than-average risk from fire, unable to self-evacuate in the event of a fire.
6x Incidents were reported for the above-mentioned period where Automatic Fire Suppression Systems (AFSS) were present of which 2 activations were reported which extinguished the fire on both occasions. (AFSS)
Reported Incidents
The seat of the fire was identified to involve an electrical consumer unit which was left to burn out with fire spread limited to item 1st ignited. Due to insufficient heat from the fire, the sprinkler head located in the room of origin of the fire did not activate.
A fire involving a private balcony was extinguished using water from a bucket/container with fire spread limited to the floor of origin. Sprinkler coverage was provided within the residential flat(s) which did not actuate as coverage did not include the external balcony. Guidance contained in BS9251 states, residential external balconies permanently open to the outside may be omitted unless required by a fire strategy or risk assessment.
It is reported that a fire within a bathroom/toilet was extinguished by the tenant using a handheld fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire before the arrival of the LFB, enquires are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire. Due to insufficient heat from the fire, the sprinkler head located in the room of origin of the fire did not activate.
On arrival the officer in charge established that the fire was located within a flat kitchen, involving a chip pan that had caught light which had been contained, controlled and extinguished by the activation of one sprinkler head. No further firefighting was required with total fire damage reported to be up to 5sqm.
This incident once again, debunks the myth, residential sprinklers as an extinguishing media should not be used on chip pan fires.
In England cooking fires were the most common type of accidental fires reported for the period 2013/2014 to 2022/2023 with over 1100 fires.
We still see reports from Fire Rescue Service(s) that where the occupant is present at the time of a chip pan fire, efforts have been to extinguish the fire themselves by placing the oil pan under the tap in the kitchen sink or throw water on the pan causing the oil to explode causing serious injury allowing further fire to spread.
Sprinkler Saves UK have reported multiple incidents involving chip pan fires on each occasion the fire was extinguished, contained/controlled.
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
Fire crews were mobilised to a fire involving plant machinery/appliance which was contained to room of origin, extinguished using 1 main jet. The premises sprinkler system did not actuate as there was Insufficient heat from the fire to activate the sprinkler head(s) in the vicinity of the fire.
The benefits of sprinklers for protecting our most vulnerable residents of our communities clearly identified following a kitchen fire involving cooking which was contained to the room of origin following the activation of 1 sprinkler head which extinguished the fire with no injuries reported.
Observations, comments
The two reported sprinkler activations provide further evidence that the main functional objectives of a life safety sprinkler system were achieved.
Advice For Building Managers, the following advice is intended for building managers, individuals who have responsibility for fire safety within a building. It is paramount that fire protection measures in buildings can function effectively in the event of a fire.
To achieve this: –
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, it is a requirement of the Order for the responsible person to implement the appropriate arrangements for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring of the preventive and protective measures.
Further detailed guidance on Sprinkler protected buildings can be found in the BAFSA Information file, A guide for Responsible Persons and Duty Holder.
Sources/further reading.
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.