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fire safety in high rise and in-home sprinkler system

What Fire Safety Should You Be Aware of in High-Rise Buildings?

fire safety in high rise and in-home sprinkler system

Hundreds and thousands of UK citizens live in residential high-rise complexes across the country. However, there have been concerns about the safety of its occupants if a fire was to occur. Similar to the Grenfell Tower Fire. That’s why an in-home sprinkler system has become highly sought after and even made legally mandatory in certain situations.

 

But, what fire safety should people be aware of? 

Know the Plan

The evacuation plan for your building should outline what inhabitants are expected to do in the event of an emergency, so make sure you are familiar with it. The building management should conduct a fire drill with tenants at least once a year and post the evacuation plan where all residents can see and review it. 

 

When your building conducts drills, be sure to take part. Look for a building with an automated sprinkler system when searching for an apartment or high-rise residence. In less time than it takes the fire department to arrive, sprinklers can put out a residential fire.

Current Sprinkler Requirements

The BS 9251 is the British Standard for the installation of sprinklers throughout properties in the UK. Published in 2005, it has since had 2 amendments, including in 2014 and the post-Grenfell Tower fire in 2021.

The types of properties come in three different categories. Category 1 covers small residential buildings (less than 18m); category 2 refers to large blocks of flats (over 18m) and category 3 is large care homes and other social housing that is more than 10 residents.

 

Each category contains a set of minimal design requirements that indicate how many heads should be utilised to estimate the volume of water and pressure needed to operate the system. The overall number of heads required in any system depends on the size of the rooms. Also, their intended use, and the area that each head covers.

 

A minimum run time of 10 minutes is required for category 1 systems, and there should be one or two heads included in the estimate. Category 3 systems must have a runtime of at least 30 minutes, and the computation should take into account 2 or 4 heads.

Category 2 – High-Rise Complexes

As aforementioned, category 2 refers to the requirements for sprinkler systems within large high-rise blocks of flats that are over 18M high and in small residential care homes (10 residents or less). 

 

Currently, high-rise buildings that are over 11m above ground level are required to have sprinklers installed within the premises. 

 

Benefits of an In-Home Sprinkler System

A sprinkler system will prevent the fires from spreading to additional rooms in residential apartments. If a fire does start in a first-floor room, the sprinkler head next to it (and only that sprinkler head) will activate to put out the flames and prevent the fire from spreading. 

 

Residents will have enough time to safely escape and wait for emergency assistance. Fire engines will still need to arrive at the structure. But, because the fire damage will have been reduced, fewer hoses of water will be required.

RAD Fire Sprinklers

Here at RAD Fire Sprinklers, we promote the installation of fire sprinkler systems throughout the London and South East area. There are many benefits to having fire sprinklers in both commercial and domestic buildings:

 

For more information, or to receive a quote on an in-home sprinkler system, fill in our online form. Or, give us a call on 01892 680 090 and speak to one of our team today. Why not follow us on Twitter? Our team posts helpful guides and updates on information related to domestic sprinkler systems. All delivered straight to your social feed.

 

Brilliant company, Gadi and the team were always responsive, professional and very knowledgeable.It was our first time installing a mist system and we thought it might be tricky but they did it all completely hassle free.Will use again and would recommend.
Luis Garcia de Andoin
20:08 24 Aug 22
Mist system was a great solution for our renovation needs and them team at RAD have been great. Always communicated clearly and been on hand to discuss over the phone as needed. Would highly recommend!
David
09:32 17 Jul 22
I have used RAD for a couple of projects and found them to be good to deal with. They did a pair of 3 storey open plan houses and seven three and four story town houses. The sprinklers were to improve fire safety, allow more flexible space and comply with building regulations. The sprinklers were far more cost effective than the mist type systems and look very discrete when installed.
Paul Jeary
15:50 11 Jul 22
It has been a pleasure to deal with RAD for installation of fire sprinklers at our site is Sevenoaks. They were fast, professional, working to time and quote, which made it easy to work with them.
Katrina Horobin
12:03 29 Jun 22
My requirement was a bit unusual for RAD in that I wanted a mist system in one room of a rented house. I had no drawings or technical back up. RAD were very helpful and repositioned the unit after the initial installation. Luckily with the help of Sonny, the engineer it all worked out very well.
Simon Gurney
16:16 12 May 22
I have used RAD for the last 10 years for all of my housing developments in need of a sprinkler system. Easy process from start to finish and no issues or problems throughout. Always someone at hand to answer a querie and we have a great working relationship with the team at RAD. Would highly recommend.
Roxy
15:33 12 May 22
Diligent & a very professional team. A joy to deal with. Will certainly be calling on them to help with many more future schemes.
Jason Tema
22:17 08 Jul 19
Great team, fitting sprinklers, saving lives & property... What more could you wish for!!!
Colin P
17:53 01 Jul 17
Excellent company & great service... This company rocks! They sprinkle fires & save lives!!!
Music N Videoz
07:15 16 Dec 16
As somebody who feels that it should be a necessity for all properties to have fire sprinkler systems, I am a big fan of this company. I have used them numerous times to service my home system and they are very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend their service.
Kate Fraser
09:25 30 Mar 15
One look at Rad Fire Sprinkler's website will tell you that these guys know exactly what they are talking about when it comes to Fire Sprinklers and the legislation surrounding fire safety. A very trustworthy company.
Adam Hudson
16:45 15 Nov 13

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RAD Fire Sprinklers Ltd.
58A St John’s Road
Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9NY

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Tel: 01892 680 090

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