Fire Sprinkler Systems

12/28/2018 (Permalink)

If you own a commercial property it is important to have a fire sprinkler system installed if there is not already one. Most sprinkler systems are designed to only release water from pipes when temperatures rise and will provide an appropriate amount of water to extinguish fires before they continue to grow and spread and cause more damage. These systems also have the ability to reduce how much smoke is produced from a fire. There are four different systems that can be installed and below I will explain the difference between each one.

1. Pre-action sprinkler systems don't have water in the pipes until an actual emergency occurs. An electronically operated valve holds the water back and the pipes are filled with pressurized air or nitrogen. These systems are typically used in facilities with truly valuable items.
2. Wet pipe sprinkler systems are just like they sound in that the pipes are constantly filled with water, allowing them to react quickly in the event of a fire. These are typically found in high-rise buildings.
3. Dry-pipe sprinkler systems are filled with pressurized air and when a fire happens this pressurized air is released and the water is allowed to flow from the control valve outside the protected area.
4. Deluge sprinkler systems sometimes use water to put down the flames but will often use dry chemicals or foam. The reason for this is because these systems tend to be used in industrial facilities since they tend to have more highly combustible materials. Due to this the sprinkler system will also have multiple sprinklers because due to the combustible materials a fire could spread a lot quicker.