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Settling fears about fire sprinklers
If an actor is trapped in a building and needs to create a diversion for her escape, what is the best diversion? Dozens of Hollywood movies have this dilemma and the common solution is to set off the fire sprinklers. In the resulting pandemonium she escapes as water rains from the ceiling and floods the floors.
These are movies and the most memorable ones are usually based on a sliver of truth. This tidbit of truth has created some worry for my clients who discover their home is installed with fire sprinklers.
These systems are installed because their home is situated down a long narrow driveway, in a rural setting, or in a tight cul-de-sac that hinders the response from fire personnel. Sprinkler systems are to give residents precious minutes to escape from their home in the event of a fire. They are designed to preserve life and property.
It would help for me to explain a few points to settle fears whenever you are in a structure with those almost subtle fixtures overhead.
- These are heat activated sprinkler heads. The high heat from the early stages of a fire (135-165 degrees Fahrenheit) will set these off. Homes are heated between the high 60s and low 70s. Not even my wife and daughters would heat the house to a level that would set off the sprinkler heads – only igniting the furnishings could attain that heat!
- The sprinkler heads all operate independently. They do not all activate if one goes off. Only the sprinkler head(s) exposed to the high heat will activate. Hollywood has it wrong. This may be helpful to consider: If you connect five sprinklers to a single garden hose, what kind of water pressure are you going to get? Not much. Same is true of fire sprinklers.
- Candles, incense and smoke lingering after blowing out a candle will not cause your sprinkler head to go off. Again, the sprinklers are heat activated. Your smoke detector may blare if you blow out dozens of candles at the same moment, but all will remain dry.
- Your smoke detectors operate independently of your fire sprinklers. If you overcook and burn something in the kitchen setting off the blazing alarms in your house, or blow out 70 candles at once celebrating your parent’s birthday, that does not mean water is about to pour down.
- Fire sprinkler systems have a solid reputation and are less likely to leak than regular plumbing features.
