As part of activities during National Sprinkler Campaign Week (19-24 May), the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) is calling on the government to make changes to legislation, highlighting the disparity in building regulations across the UK.

"Sprinkler laws in Wales and Scotland offer much more protection than in England and Northern Ireland, meaning their communities have more fire protection," the NFCC said.

Terry McDermott, NFCC lead for sprinklers, commented, “The evidence clearly speaks for itself; our research proves that sprinklers are both effective and provide strong fire safety protections as part of a fire safety package.

“Wales and Scotland already recognise this and have implemented measures to make communities safer from fire. We want to see these measures mirrored in England and Northern Ireland as a matter of urgency."

Research recently carried out by NFCC and the National Fire Sprinkler Network showed that sprinkler systems operate on 94% of occasions, demonstrating high reliability.

The research also found that sprinkler systems are highly effective when they do operate, extinguishing or containing the fire on 99% of occasions. In converted and purpose built flats, sprinklers are 100% effective.

Support the campaign by following the hashtag #ThinkSprinkler on social media to raise awareness on sprinklers.

Source 

National Fire Chiefs