SPRINKLER SYSTEM

Introduction

Automatic Sprinklers System have been in use in the U.S. since 1874. Fire sprinklers are widely recognized as the single most effective method for fighting the spread of fires in their early stages – before they can cause severe injury to people and damage to property.

Sprinkler Operation

The operation mechanism is a frangible glass bulb which contains a heat responsive liquid (Glycerin Solution).During a fire, the ambient temperature rises causing the liquid in the bulb to expand.When the ambient temperature reaches the rated temperature of the sprinkler,the bulb shatters.As a result, the waterway is cleared of all sealing parts and water is discharged towards the deflector.The deflector is designed to distribute the water in a pattern that is most effective in controlling the fire.

The Facts

According to the National Fire Protection Association, property damage in hotel fires was 87% less in structures with sprinklers than it was in structures without sprinklers during the year 1983-87. (Average loss per fire was RM9,200 in sprinklered buildings and RM41,200 in unsprinklered buildings.)

Nearly half of all hotels and motels, according to a 1988 survey by NFPA, have sprinkler systems.

NFPA has no record of a fire killing more than two people in completely sprinklered building where the system was properly operating, except in an explosion or flash fire or where industrial fire brigade members or employees were killed during fire suppression operations.