Facts on Sprinkler Systems

Did you know that water damage from a building sprinkler system will be much less severe than the damage caused by water from firefighting hose lines or smoke and fire damage, if the fire is allowed to spread? A fast response sprinkler releases between 8-24 gallons of water per minute compared to 80-125 gallons of water per minute discharged by a single fire hose.

Sprinkler heads are individually activated by fire temperatures when the temperature exceeds 155 degrees. Residential fires are often controlled with one sprinkler head. Nearly 90% of all fires are controlled with six or fewer heads. A recent study verifying 80 years of automatic sprinkler use found that 82% of the fires that have occurred were controlled by two or fewer sprinkler heads.

Sprinklers provide a high level of life safety. Statistics reveal that there has never been any multiple loss of life in a fully sprinklered buildings. Property losses are 85% less in residences with fire sprinklers compared to those without sprinklers. The combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems in all buildings could reduce overall injuries, loss of life and property damage by at least 50%.