Sprinklers

Think Sprinklers

There is clear evidence that sprinklers can be effective in the rapid suppression of fires. London Fire Brigade (LFB) plays a key leadership role in promoting better understanding of the benefits of sprinklers as part of a core commitment to reducing the impact of fire on people, property and the environment in London.

Sprinklers can:

• Reduce death and injury from fire
• Reduce the risks to firefighters
• Protect property and heritage
• Reduce the effects of arson
• Reduce the environmental impact of fire
• Reduce fire costs and the disruption to the community and business
• Permit design freedoms and encourage innovative, inclusive and sustainable architecture

We work to encourage building owners and developers to install sprinklers when there is a risk-based case for doing so.

Sprinkler position statement

The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) approved a sprinkler position statement on 27 October 2010. This reaffirmed the Brigade’s commitment to the need for sprinklers in buildings where there is a risk based case for doing so.

While sprinklers play a positive role in reducing the human impact and economic and environmental cost of fire in any building they are installed in, we believe that our focus should be directed to those properties where the most significant impact can be achieved:

• Schools
• Residential care homes
• Domestic premises housing the most vulnerable
• Commercial premises that present a significant risk due to their size, construction or use  

We are working to contact the owners and operators of these types of buildings in London and have developed a leaflet that outlines some of the key benefits of installing sprinklers to help with this.

Previous sprinkler activity – sprinklers in schools

The Government announced in March 2007 that it expected all new schools and the majority of those undergoing major refurbishment to have sprinklers installed. 

Supporting this announcement, the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) published Building Bulletin (BB) 100, “Designing and Managing Against the Risk of Fire in Schools”. Alongside this, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) developed an interactive risk assessment tool and a cost benefit analysis tool to be used by local authorities and design teams to help make decisions on the installation of sprinklers in schools. 

When both financial cost and the wider social and economic impacts of fire in schools are considered, sprinklers in schools are good value. The LFB works to raise awareness of this change with decision makers and the general public and to encourage the inclusion of sprinklers in all buildings where there is a risk based case for doing so.

Related documents

Think Sprinkler leaflet ( PDF, 2.1MB)