Commercial Fire Sprinkler Myths

2/1/2023 (Permalink)

Fire suppression and sprinkler systems are effective at reducing property damage. Call (904) 246-6118 if your fire suppression system is triggered.

If you own commercial property, a fire sprinkler system can prevent irreparable damage to your building. Unfortunately, commercial fire sprinkler myths can get in the way of this important safety device. Here, we debunk some myths and reveal some truths about commercial fire sprinklers and how they work. 

• Myth: When one fire sprinkler goes off, all of the others do, too. 

• Fact: Contrary to what you might have seen in the movies or on TV, sprinklers don’t all go off at once. Each sprinkler head is activated individually when it senses temperatures of over 155°F. So, only the sprinklers that sense high levels of heat will activate, which typically means that only a few sprinklers will go off in a fire. This is fine because the majority of commercial fires can be extinguished by two sprinkler heads or fewer. 

• Myth: The damage that fire sprinklers cause is more expensive than fire damage. 

• Fact: The truth is that fire sprinklers release significantly less water than firefighters’ hoses. What’s more, because they help keep fires from spreading, they reduce the amount of extinguishment the firefighters need to perform, reducing water damage. 

• Myth: There’s no need for sprinklers if you’ve installed smoke alarms. 

• Fact: Smoke alarms will provide an audible alert when there’s a fire, but they do nothing to extinguish it. If a fire starts outside of business hours, the smoke alarm can’t do anything to contain the fire. The flames are likely to spread and destroy property before the fire trucks can make it to the building. 

• Myth: Sprinkler systems are extremely sensitive and easy to trigger. 

• Fact: According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), only about 1 in 16 million sprinkler heads activate accidentally. Because they only activate when they detect high heat, they won’t go off if an employee takes a smoke break too close to the building or burns lunch. Smoke alarms don’t set off sprinkler systems, either. Each system is triggered independently by heat. 

• Myth: Fire sprinkler systems aren’t effective. 

• Fact: Fire sprinkler system installation minimizes the number of injuries and fatalities from fires. Research indicates that buildings with sprinkler systems have an 87 percent lower death rate and a 27 percent lower injury rate than buildings that don’t have them. 
• Myth: Fire sprinklers don’t require maintenance. 
• Fact: Like any other mechanical system, sprinkler systems require regular maintenance. You’ll need to keep them from freezing in cold weather, test them, monitor pipe pressure, inspect the heads for damage, check for leaks, and make sure the valves open and close properly. It’s also important to turn them on; property owners failing to turn their systems on accounts for 59 percent of sprinkler system failures. 

• Myth: Your insurance isn’t affected when you install a sprinkler system.

• Fact: In some places, the installation of sprinkler systems is required by law. While this can be costly, insurance companies will often lower premiums for businesses with a sprinkler system installed. That’s because sprinklers are effective at reducing property damage. 

If your building has suffered fire or water damage, call SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra. Our highly-trained restoration technicians have the experience and equipment to restore your Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, or Ponte Vedra area commercial property and get everything back to normal. We’ve served our community for more than 40 years, and we’re experts in water damage repair and restoration as well as damage from fire and soot. Call (904) 246-6118 to contact us today!