Fire Sprinkler Systems: Silent Life Safety Protectors

If you’re sitting in an office, a restaurant or a commercial building right now, look up. Most likely, you’ll see several tiny little sprinkler heads spread out across the ceiling. Most commercial spaces are required by code to have a sprinkler system. Some historic buildings, of which our area has many, are grandfathered in and don’t require these systems to be in place. Residential homes of more than 5,000 square feet are required to have a sprinkler system installed when built.

So, what is a fire sprinkler system and how does it work? There are many systems we install, but we mainly do either wet or dry. The wet method consists of a water supply that provides pressure and distributes water through a piping system connected to the little sprinkler heads. One common belief is that when a fire takes place, the whole system activates, which can cause water damage throughout a building. However, this is not true. The systems today are pretty smart. Each closed-head sprinkler has a heat element and activates independently when a certain heat level is reached. This, of course, helps to isolate the water, which is less damaging than a streaming fire hose.

We install dry sprinkler systems in places where freezing could be an issue, like an exterior parking garage. The dry sprinkler system is set up very similar to the wet, where the sprinkler heads have a heat element and operate independently. The major difference is that air, not water, is present in the piping, until a fire is detected.

There are other professional fire sprinkler systems that could be used and that we can help install that are less common, but it depends on the contents of the building. There are Antifreeze systems and even Pre-Action systems. The Antifreeze systems use anti-freeze and a water solution to suppress a fire and are used to protect exteriors of a building. Pre-Action systems are used in places where accidental triggering could be a disaster for contents, like a museum or a place that holds manuscripts.

So, the next time you look up, you can have a better understanding of all of the little sprinkler heads you see and how they actually work. The best feature about them is that they do work. They truly can help save lives and properties from the major fire damage. QCBN

By Jon and Jamie Aten

Jon and Jamie Aten are the owners of All West Fire & Security. All West Fire & Security, a family-owned business, has been keeping Arizonans safe in Prescott for nearly 30 years. They’ve designed and installed thousands of fire protection and security systems for industrial, commercial, residential and special hazard clients. They work closely with architects and contractors to ensure your new construction or remodeling project meets all safety code requirements. All West Fire & Security are experts in smart home automation, state-of-the-art fire suppression systems, inspections, sprinklers, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, monitoring, intrusion alarms, security cameras, badge access systems, backflow certifications and more.