A well-designed fire sprinkler system can be one of the most critical components in any building’s fire safety and emergency preparedness strategy. Not only can these automatic fire suppression systems help extinguish flames, making a substantial difference in terms of damage limitation, but they can also contain flames, helping to ensure the building’s occupants can evacuate safely.
With that said, fire sprinkler systems are only effective when they are designed for the exact needs of the building where they are being used. On top of that, they need to be maintained properly; otherwise, they are at risk of misfiring, leaking, or failing to activate when needed the most.
Even when they are designed, installed, and maintained correctly, there is always a risk of leaks and accidental activations, which is why it is important to have tools like the Shutgun Fire Sprinkler Shut Off Tool on hand.
This guide will explain the impact of thoughtful fire sprinkler system design, as well as the role of the Shutgun in preventing water damage.
What Are the Basics of Fire Sprinkler System Design?
Essentially, fire sprinkler systems function by detecting the type of heat that indicates the presence of a fire and automatically releasing water or other extinguishing agents directly over the area where the fire is suspected.
A thoughtfully designed system considers the layout of the building, the physical size of the interior space, the types of materials stored within it, and which areas of the building are at the highest risk of fire damage. On top of that, the best fire sprinkler systems are also designed to suppress flames long enough to allow building occupants to escape.
In other words, the fire sprinkler heads and pipes supplying them are positioned in locations where the extinguishing agents they release can have the greatest impact.
Enhancing Resilience With Targeted Fire Control
The best fire sprinkler systems are strategically positioned throughout a building in a way that allows them to mitigate risks and supply adequate and precise fire control in areas that are at the greatest risk of fire damage.
This is why you will often see more fire sprinkler heads in areas where flammables are stored, open flames or sparks are a regular occurrence, or high-traffic areas that are regularly populated with people.
In other words, you want fire sprinkler heads in high-risk areas so they can react quickly and suppress flames before they have the chance to spread, risk lives, and destroy property.
Another component of this targeted fire control is positioning fire sprinkler heads so that their extinguishing agents will not be blocked if the sprinkler system is activated. Another tactic is choosing the correct type of fire sprinkler heads for the facility’s needs.
For example, upright fire sprinkler heads can spray water upwards in a dome-like pattern that can help extinguish flames without obstructing them by various hanging objects, like ducts, fans, and beams.
Enhancing Fire Detection Accuracy With the Design of the System
While strategically positioning fire sprinkler heads is an essential component of effective fire sprinkler system design, it’s also important to ensure the system is sensitive enough to detect fires accurately.
This component of the system’s design requires some balancing act, as you want the fire sprinklers to activate when they are needed but not falsely activated when they are not.
If, for example, you are installing a fire sprinkler system in an industrial kitchen where ovens and stovetops generate a significant amount of heat, you do not want the system to activate just because the kitchen is hot.
This can be avoided by calibrating the heat levels of the system’s detection mechanisms, so they are only activated when there is a legitimate risk of a fire. Some systems also connect to the building’s smoke detection system.
While these design elements and customizations can help reduce the risk of accidental activation, they can still occur. Unfortunately, when a fire sprinkler system runs when it is not needed or even continues to run after it has successfully extinguished a fire, the result can be tens of thousands of dollars in water damage.
This is because even a single fire sprinkler head can release up to 60 gallons of water in a single minute. Again, this is why investing in the right tools is critical. The Shutgun Fire Sprinkler Head Shut Off Tool is an affordable, easy-to-use solution that allows you to deactivate a fire sprinkler head in seconds.
In fact, it is recommended that a Shutgun be positioned with every fire extinguisher in the building, ensuring that it is easily accessible when required.
Not only is the Shutgun effective, but there are also versions available that work with a variety of different sprinkler heads, including a Concealed Head Shutgun and a Sheared Head Shutgun, so you can easily obtain the exact tools you need to protect yourself from significant, fire sprinkler-related water damage.
Final Words
A well-designed and maintained fire sprinkler system can be one of the most important components of your fire prevention and emergency preparedness plan. By pairing this system with the tools that help mitigate the risks of water damage, like picking up a Custom Shutgun Case, you can protect both people and your property.