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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260301
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SUMMARY:Greater Manchester college saved by sprinklers
DESCRIPTION:Real life school fire underlines urgent need to protect new education buildings with sprinklers. \nSummary \nA fire in a third-floor science laboratory at a Greater Manchester college has demonstrated once again the vital role sprinklers can play in protecting pupils\, staff\, firefighters and valuable community assets. \nGreater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) attended the incident on 11 March 2026. On arrival\, the incident commander confirmed that the premises’ sprinkler system had activated\, containing the fire to the room of origin\, preventing it from spreading throughout the college building. Firefighters extinguished the fire using appropriate firefighting media. No injuries were reported. \nThis incident stands in stark contrast to the 2020 fire at Ravensdale Infant School in Derbyshire\, where the absence of sprinkler protection contributed to devastating damage. The school was destroyed by fire disrupting pupils\, parents and staff until it was rebuilt with sprinklers at a cost of £6.9 million reopening in 2022. Following a pledge from the city council following the fire to fit sprinklers in any new school they build is fitted with sprinklers. \nThe British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA) perspective is that the Greater Manchester college fire highlights why sprinklers should be mandatory in all newly built schools and colleges in England. At the very least\, BAFSA is calling on government to maintain the existing ‘sprinkler expectation’ in any revised version of Building Bulletin 100 (BB100)\, the Department for Education’s fire safety design guidance for schools. \nSprinkler systems are already required in new school buildings in Scotland and are a condition of government funding in Wales. Yet they are not mandatory in schools in England or Northern Ireland\, despite mounting evidence of their effectiveness and the wider educational\, financial andcommunity costs caused by school fires. \nA [1] report commissioned by the National Fire Sprinkler Network has warned that school fires cost more than £126 million each year and cause widespread disruption to children’s education\, with six incidents every week damaging at least one classroom. The research also found that more than 97% of school fires over the past 14 years occurred in buildings without sprinkler protection. Where sprinklers were installed and activated\, they contained or controlled the fire in 71% ofincidents and extinguished it in a further 27%\, giving an overall effectiveness rate of 98%. \nThis incident in Greater Manchester reinforces why sprinklers matter. The sprinkler system did what it was designed to do\, it contained the fire\, limited fire damage contributing to keeping a vital educational building in use without that protection\, the outcome could have been very different. \nBAFSA\, working in conjunction with the NFSN and the NFCC\, is urging ministers to act on the evidence and ensure that new schools and colleges in England are designed with automatic fire suppression from the outset. The association says the cost of prevention is far outweighed by the human\, educational and financial consequences of a major fire. \nThe NFSN\, The Case for Fire Sprinklers in Educational Buildings: The message is clear: protecting schools with sprinklers is not an optional extra\, but a necessary investment in educational continuity\, community resilience and long-term economic security. \nThe Incident \n\nDuring a science lesson\, a member of staff observed a burning smell.\nThe investigation found that combustible material had built up between the laboratory.\nworktops and ignited after being exposed to a nearby lit bunsen burner.\nThe member of staff raised the alarm\, enabling the college’s emergency plan to be implemented resulting in the building being fully evacuated.\nThankfully\, no injuries were reported.\nUpon the arrival of GMFRS\, crews confirmed that the building’s sprinkler system had activated in the third-floor science laboratory classroom.\nThree sprinkler heads activated\, containing and controlling the fire in the room of origin preventing further fire spread through the building..\nFirefighters extinguished the fire using firefighting media.\n\nImpact of the fire \n\nFortunately\, the fire caused only limited disruption to the college. The building was closed for four days while the sprinkler system was reinstated\, safety checks completed allowing reoccupation of the building to be approved. Further work was required to restore the classroom where the fire occurred.\nIf it was not for the presence of the sprinkler system\, the outcome of this incident could have been so much different resulting in the loss of a critical local infrastructure\, providing not only education but also community services\, support networks and spaces for local groups.\nBy contrast\, the 2020 fire at Harrington Junior School in Derbyshire\, where sprinklers were not installed\, caused far greater disruption. The school was destroyed\, forcing 235 pupils to be taught in a local family centre for eight weeks before moving into temporary accommodation. They remained there for two years while a new £5.5 million school was built.\n\nMyths & Misconceptions \nIt is disappointing that the college press release focussed on the damage was caused by water from the sprinkler system\, affecting three hub areas and eleven classrooms below the fire floor. For context\, the sprinkler system: \n\nContained and controlled the fire in the room of origin\, prevent the fire from spreading through the building preventing conflagration of the college building\nProvided valuable time for the college to be safely evacuated and allow GMFRS to implement a tactical action plan to extinguish the fire.\nIn comparison water damage from a sprinkler system will be far less severe than the damage caused by water from firefighting jets/hoses.\nModern sprinklers release 45-200 litres of water per minute compared to 700-4000 litres per minute discharged by fire service hoses and jet.\n\nIf it was not for the presence of the sprinkler system\, the outcome of this incident could have been so much different resulting in the loss of a critical local infrastructure\, providing not only education but also community services\, support networks and spaces for local groups. \nBusiness Recovery Plan \n\nFirefighters are increasingly likely to respond to incidents in buildings equipped with sprinkler systems\, it is therefore critical for building managers and duty holders to integrate an effective business recovery plan into the premises’ emergency protocols.\nThe benefit of which will allow the fire service to efficiently manage water following sprinkler system activation during a fire or in the rare event of accidental discharge\, thereby mitigating potential disruptions to business operations or occupancy.\n\nLegislation \nThe installation of AWSS It is a requirement in Scotland and a condition of government funding in Wales\, but despite the rising number of school fires since the 1lockdowns of 2020/21 there is no requirement in England or Northern Ireland for the installation of sprinklers in schools. \nThe National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) report that in May 2021\, the government announced a proposal to make the installation of sprinklers mandatory in new schools over 11m in height\, However\, given that only a few schools currently meet this threshold\, the benefits of this proposal are likely to be limited. When replying to the consultation on these proposals\, the NFCC was clear that their strongly held belief is that they constitute a lessening of standards from previousguidance. \nThe original guidance\, when first released in 2007\, acknowledged the important role of sprinklers and stated that “all new schools should have fire sprinklers installed except in a few low-risk schools.” The proposed changes in the guidance are a retrograde step and represent a real lessening of standards in this area. \nNow approaching over 5 years since the government first consulted on a revised version of Building Bulletin 100: design for fire safety in schools\, we are still waiting for a decision to be announced. \nConclusion \n\nThe sprinkler system contributed to preventing conflagration of the school building\, protecting a valuable community resource.\nThe importance of an onsite business recovery plan for firefighters to respond to incidents in buildings equipped with sprinkler systems to manage the release of water.\nProviding further supporting evidence to under pin BAFSA’s advocacy\, turning operational evidence into persuasive tools for policy and parliamentary engagement\, and reinforcing the case for wider sprinkler inclusion within national building policy.\nThe installation of sprinklers in news schools in England should be made mandatory following Scotland and Wales regardless of height.\n\nLobbying for change \n\nEffective advocacy and policy lobbying require the collection of robust supporting evidence. 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.uk\n\nSources/further reading \n\n[1]NFSN\, Optimal economics report\, “What is the cost of fires in schools”\nSprinkler Saves Review 2025/26\n Sprinkler Saves spring update\nNational Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) sprinkler position statement\nAugust 2025 London primary school sprinkler activation\nNFSN Winter newsletter 2025\n\n             
URL:https://www.sprinklersaves.co.uk/saves/greater-manchester-college-saved-by-sprinklers/
CATEGORIES:Home
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251101T000000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251130T000000
DTSTAMP:20260814T235046
CREATED:20260129T094356Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260129T114642Z
UID:10000549-1761955200-1764460800@www.sprinklersaves.co.uk
SUMMARY:Retrofitted sprinkler system extinguishes fire in West Midlands residential tall building
DESCRIPTION:Image credit Wolverhampton Homes living room seat of the fire\n‘The safety of residents is our top priority. We are working with customers and partners such as West Midlands Fire Service\, to ensure that residents are safe from fire at all times. Installing sprinklers in our tower blocks has proven to not only to save lives\, but also minimises damage to the flat and protects firefighters in tackling what could have been a large blaze.’\nNick Lacey\, Building Safety Manager at Wolverhampton Homes\nBackground \nWolverhampton Homes reported this fire and reiterated its commitment to installing sprinklers\, enabling this positive news story to reach a broader audience. By clearly demonstrating the advantages of sprinkler systems in residential fires\, this outcome will entice other stakeholders and housing providers to follow is lead and install sprinklers\, thereby enhancing fire protection for our communities. \nFollowing the tragic fire at Grenfell tower\, the City of Wolverhampton Council took the decision as part of their high-rise infrastructure programme to include the retrofitting of sprinklers in all 36 high-rise tower blocks\, with all but one managed by Wolverhampton Homes. They were built between 1960 and 1973 to provide large numbers of social housing on tight footprints. \nIn the autumn of 2025\, West Midlands Fire Rescue Service (WMFRS) responded to a fire in a high-rise purpose-built block of flats. The buildings sprinkler system activated\, thereby containing\, controlling and extinguishing a small living room fire. No injuries were reported. \nDemonstrating the effectiveness of sprinklers in controlling fires at an early stage\, significantly reducing the risk to life\, limiting fire spread and minimising property damage\, preventing the fire from spreading further preventing flash over allowing a positive outcome. \nIf it was not for the decision by the City of Wolverhampton Council to retrofit sprinklers in their high-rise property portfolio\, the outcome of this incident could have been so different. \nA 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 further evidence of the effectiveness\, benefits of sprinklers as part of a comprehensive fire safety strategy. \nProviding further weight to the reliability and effectiveness of sprinkler systems following the report conducted by 1Optimal Economics and commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC)\, National Fire Sprinkler Network into the performance\, reliability\, and effectiveness of sprinkler systems in controlling and extinguishing fires. \nThe Incident \nA fire that started in the living room of a one-bedroom unit within a 16-story residential purpose-built block of flats was caused by discarded smoking materials. The blaze was effectively contained\, controlled\, and extinguished in its original location by the activation of a single sidewall sprinkler head before WMFRS arrived. However\, because the internal doors were left open\, smoke spread throughout the flat. \nThe images identify that the resident maintained poor housekeeping\, with significant disorganisation and clutter throughout the living space with smoking paraphernalia on display. The NFCC report smoking is one of the top causes of accidental dwelling fires in the Uk. Nationally\, it remains the top cause of accidental fire deaths. In the event of a fire\, these conditions could have accelerated its spread\, compromising the means of escape from the flat to a place of safety. \nFortunately\, in this instance\, the sprinkler system was present\, activated controlling the fire’s development and significantly reducing heat and smoke production. This allowed the resident more time to self-evacuate from the dwelling to a place of safety. \n                            \nImage credit Wolverhampton Homes living room seat of the fire\nSpecification of the sprinkler system  \n\nInstalled to comply with BS 9251:2014 Fire Sprinkler Systems for Domestic and Residential Occupancies – Code of Practice.\nCategory 3:\n\nConclusion  \nThis incident provides further supporting evidence of the benefits of sprinklers to under pin the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association’s (BAFSA) advocacy\, turning operational evidence into persuasive tools for policy and parliamentary engagement\, and reinforcing the case for the retrofitting of sprinklers systems in high-rise residential blocks of flats. \nWe welcomed the government’s November 2020 decision to lower the height threshold for mandatory sprinklers in purpose group 1a (residential blocks of flats) from 30 metres to 11 metres. Nevertheless\, concerns persist regarding the lack of requirements to retrofit existing residential buildings with sprinklers. \nIn alignment with the 2NFCC sprinkler position statement\, The BAFSA advocate for government action to mandate the retrofitting of sprinklers in high-rise residential buildings. Retrofitting should apply to all existing residential buildings over 18 metres in height\, or those with at least seven storeys served by a single staircase\, as well as all existing residential buildings exceeding 11 metres\, based on risk assessments. \nThe outcome of this fire could have been so different if building had not been fitted with a sprinkler system. \nSources/further reading \n\nSprinkler saves review 2024/2025\nSprinkler Saves winter review\nNFSN Newsletter\n1Efficiency and Effectiveness of sprinkler systems in the United Kingdom:An Analysis from Fire Service Data\n2NFCC AWSS Policy Statement\n\nIf 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. \nIf you hear of a save report it using this link. \n  \n             \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.sprinklersaves.co.uk/saves/retrofitted-sprinkler-system-extinguishes-fire-in-west-midlands-residential-tall-building/
LOCATION:West Midlands
CATEGORIES:Home
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