Automatic sprinkler systems have been around for a very long time. When the early types of sprinkler systems were installed they were not very reliable. Today, sprinkler systems are a very reliable system for fire protection in a business or even in a home. If your business or home has a sprinkler system installed, your insurance company will lower your insurance rate. There are other things that will help get your insurance rate lowered. They are having an alarm system, fire plug close to your home, and a fire station located with five miles from your home.
Automatic sprinkler protection has a series of combined devices so that the system will automatically distribute enough water to either put out the fire or keep it from spreading.
The process of spacing sprinkler heads in a building must conform to established fire codes that are enforced by the fire marshal and local city building codes.
Standards of sprinkler systems include the size pipe used, method of hanging the pipe, and other details involved in the installation of a sprinkler system.
The installation of an automatic sprinkler system is based assuming that only a few sprinkler heads will be set off to extinguish the fire.
It has been proven that the efficiency and performance of sprinkler systems at a reported fire that the automatic sprinkler system did not fail to operate.
I would estimate that over $250 billion worth of property is protected by automatic sprinklers in the United States.
On an average about 98 percent of all fires in sprinklered buildings are extinguished or kept from spreading.
Automatic sprinklers are very effective in preventing loss of life because of a fire. I have experienced that loss of life is very low in a fire with a sprinkler system. But some deaths are involved in some fires where an explosion occurred or burning clothes were involved. I have made many fires in nursing homes or assisted living homes where a fire had broke out and the sprinkler system had either put the fire out or kept it from spreading.
Sprinklers are very useful because they sound the alarm of a fire and immediately begin to apply water.
Sprinkler systems come with different type heads that can be installed on them and I will list them below.
Bulb Type- This type head is partially filled with liquid the levers and fusible link. Heat makes the liquid expand and the bulb shatters. When the bulb breaks the valve is released and the water begins to flow.
Quick Response type-The fusible link offers increased area to collect heat. This was designed for life safety purposes.
Pellet type- This type has a small pellet of solder under compression with a small cylinder that melts at a predetermined temperature.
Fusible link head- This head has a frame screwed into the sprinkler piping. Two levers press against the frame and cap over the hole holding the water back. The link is melted during a fire and the water is released.
Sprinkler systems come in two types one is a wet pipe system and the other is a dry pipe system.
A wet pipe system is just what the name implies. The entire sprinkler system is full of water and under pressure at all times. A wet pipe system usually has an alarm that sounds when water flows through the system.
A dry pipe system is under air pressure. This type system should only be used in a building that does not have enough heat in the building to keep water from freezing. A dry pipe system keeps water out of sprinkler piping until a sprinkler head is activated by a fire. When a sprinkler head is activated by fire the dry pipe opens automatically to allow water flow.
Deluge system is a system where the sprinkler heads are open all the time. This system is used in areas where the hazard danger is very high from a fast spreading fire. This system is used where flammable liquids and high explosive materials are involved.
As you can see having fire protection not only protects your life, business or home it also helps you save money with a lower insurance rate.
