INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL SPRINKLERS
Automatic sprinklers have been used for around 140 years to protect commercial and industrial premises from the hazards of fire. These are primarily installed as ‘property protection’ systems to protect the building, stored goods, industrial process equipment and ensure the continuity of the business.
While sprinklers have been used for the protection of property such as mills, factories, warehouses and processing facilities, their effectiveness also improves the levels of life safety for workers and fire fighters.
The current versions Building Regulations Fire Safety documents, Approved Document B (England and Wales), Technical Handbook (Scotland), Technical Booklet E (Northern Ireland), Technical Guidance Document B (Republic of Ireland) all incorporate clear recognition of the value of sprinklers in improving levels of safety for occupants as well as in preventing the spread of fire.
Other developments such as Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) and improved levels of in-rack storage sprinklers have demonstrated the value of sprinklers in providing additional levels of safety for fire fighters in large, complex structures or in buildings where the fire load is excessive. With the incorporation of the fast-response sprinkler heads there is clear evidence that, even in the compartment of origin of a fire, where sprinklers are installed the occupants of buildings and fire responders enjoy a significant additional measure of life safety.
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