Sprinkler systems prevented serious damage to a top London hotel on Monday night (1 December). Fire broke out in a bedroom on the 25th floor of the Hilton, located on the exclusive Park Lane in Mayfair, resulting in 100 people being evacuated as a precaution.

The London Fire Brigade was on the scene within 20 minutes, but the fire was already out, no one was hurt, and damage was limited to just one room, thanks to the building’s sprinkler system.

London Fire Brigade is campaigning for sprinklers to be fitted in all commercial premises, residential care homes, housing and schools. Praising the hotel’s good practice, London Fire Brigade Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Mark Andrews, said:

“This fire highlightsthe clear benefits of sprinklers to businesses like the hotel industry. There is no doubt that in this case the sprinkler system prevented a more serious fire from spreading into other areas of the hotel and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

“The fire successfully activated the sprinklers and it was out before our crews arrived. As well as being potentially life saving devices, sprinklers help with business continuity by minimising disruption and allowing businesses to get back to normal as soon as possible.”

Extensive safety checks were carried out and an investigation is now underway to determine the cause of the fire.

Commercial buildings, non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales are already forced to undertake a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

While the overwhelming majority of premises do this, if the assessment is thought to have been carried out to an insufficient extent, the Responsible Person can face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.

Original sources

London Fire Brigade

The Caterer