Slough Retrofitted Residential Tall Building Sprinkler Activation

Summary

• Date of Incident: Monday June 8, 2026.
• Time of Call: 23:35hrs.
• Location: Slough.
• Premises: Converted Flat/Maisonettes- 3 or more storeys.
• Fire Location: Dwelling.
• Fire Protection System: Wet Pipe Automatic Fire Suppression System.

Triangle Fire Systems Ltd and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service have shared this positive case study, highlighting a fire involving a microwave oven in a dwelling within a former office block converted to residential accommodation extinguished by the building’s residential sprinkler system.

For this incident, the presence of a sprinkler system in a tall residential building, reaffirmed

• Sprinklers can control fire growth and extinguish fires.
• Reducing the risk to people, firefighters, property and the environment
• It can assist preventing a major, prolonged incident that would place significant strain on Fire and Rescue Service resources and make it harder to maintain normal operations.

Adds to the evidence that sprinkler systems are reliable and effective, reinforcing findings from the report by ¹Optimal Economics, commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council and the National Fire Sprinkler Network, on the role of sprinklers in controlling and extinguishing fires as part of a comprehensive fire safety strategy.

The incident

• Two fire appliances were mobilised to reports of an alarm sounding in a residential building.
• The incident commander established that a fire involving a microwave oven within a dwelling on the second floor had been contained, controlled and extinguished by the activation of the sprinkler system.
• Two sidewall sprinkler heads located in the living room had operated.
• Once the fire was confirmed as all out, the sprinkler system isolation valve was isolated by firefighters on the floor of origin.
• The resident evacuated the building to a place of safety.
• The system was reinstated the following day.

   Observations                   

• The sprinkler system was retrofitted in April 2025 by the landlord as part of a package of fire safety measures to provide a further layer of protection to their residents from fire.
• The impact collating and reporting sprinkler activations should not be underestimated as it provides real-life evidence of how sprinklers reduce the impact of fire on people, property and the environment.
• At present, there is no requirement in the UK to retrofit sprinklers in high-rise residential buildings. Case studies such as this strengthens the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association’s ongoing campaign to influence policymakers for change increasing the presence of sprinklers within the built environment, in line with the recommendations of the ²NFCC Automatic Water Suppression Systems policy statement to retrofit sprinklers.

Sources/further reading. 

• Sprinkler Saves Review 2025/26
• National Fire Sprinkler Network Winter Newsletter
• ¹Efficiency and Effectiveness of sprinkler systems in the Uk
• ²NFCC Automatic Water Suppression Systems policy statement
• Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service, press release

For change, increasing the presence of sprinklers in the built environment we need the evidence, to conduct effective advocacy and policy lobbying. If you have knowledge of a sprinkler incident that may contribute to this initiative, please provide the pertinent details using the sprinkler activation reporting form available at www.sprinklersaves.co.ukIf you hear of a save report it using this link.