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Staffordshire factory saved by sprinklers

July 3

Head of Prevent, Protect and Partnerships, Ian Read, said: “At Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, we champion the use of automatic sprinklers. As shown in the incident at a factory on 3 July, the fire was contained and extinguished by the installed water suppression system, which are an invaluable resource for our crews. “We would encourage all businesses to consider the equipment they have installed to help reduce risk should the worst happen.”

Summary

Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) reported that a fire within a factory and was contained, controlled and extinguished by the installed automatic water suppression system. (Sprinklers)

A sprinkler activation is categorised as an event where one or more sprinkler heads have activated and contained, controlled, or, in some cases, extinguished a building fire. This incident provides additional data regarding the role and benefits of sprinklers as part of a broader fire safety approach.

For this incident, the operation of the AWSS inside the factory led to the following outcomes.

  • Reduce the rate of production of heat and smoke limiting the fire’s growth, containing and controlling and in this case extinguished the fire.
  • The response prevented a potentially prolonged incident that might have demanded significant resources from SFRS and affected routine operations.
  • Limited fire development assisted firefighters in search and rescue efforts and reduced risk to those personnel.
  • Preventing the total loss of the factory due to fire.

The Incident

  • 3 July 2025, SFRS despatched 3 fire appliances to a fire inside an open plan factory. Upon arrival the incident commander (IC) completed a dynamic risk assessment and determined that the fire involved a large industrial oven had been contained, controlled and extinguished by the activation of three sprinkler heads.
  • Providing further weight to the reliability and effectiveness of AWSS following the report conducted by ¹Optimal Economics, and 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.

Conclusion

  • The fire was attributed to an electrical fault related to a large industrial oven. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were committed who confirmed the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system, proceeded to ventilate the building, isolate the sprinkler system. Five individuals required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation.
  • As a result, what could have developed into a significant incident was resolved quickly and was only a minor inconvenience due to the presence of the sprinkler system, despite there being no regulatory requirement for such systems in factories.

For comparison, an unsprinklered carpet warehouse fire in Kidderminster in December 2021, reported by the Business Sprinkler Alliance resulted in a different outcome. The business experienced substantial disruption and now faces uncertainty. Containment, control, and extinguishment of that fire required substantial resources from Hereford Fire and Rescue Service, causing extensive disruption to local businesses and schools due to road closures.

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.

                 

Details

Date:
July 3
Event Category:

Venue

Staffordshire