Shutgun to the rescue at early morning sprinkler hotel mishap

There was no rest for Shutgun early in the new year, as it was on the scene of a sprinkler head-related accident on the morning of January 9th at a hotel and country club in Collingwood, Ontario.

Firefighters on scene used Shutgun to plug the activated sprinkler head (which unconfirmed sources believe was the result of a frozen pipe, which upon thawing, activated the sprinkler head.)

The firefighter who snapped this photo said

Shutgun saved significant water damage to the site.

“In many municipalities, the building manager is not allowed to shut off the building’s main water supply until the fire department has arrived, but the fire dept can shut off the activated sprinkler head,” said Greg Patterson, President of Shutgun, who engineered the product along with retired Toronto District Fire Chief, Eli Scardaoni. “Those minutes are crucial in terms of damage inflicted.”

Patterson adds that the residual cost of damage from an accidental activation of a fire sprinkler head is estimated at up to $1,000 for every minute water is left flowing and suggests one shutgunfor every fire box, on every floor.

Case Study: Tulalip Resort & Casino

The following are exerpts from an interview with Samueal Askew, General Manager, Tulalip Resort & Casino Tulalip, WA.

How Shutgun Saved a Housekeeping Sprinkler Blunder


How did you hear about Shutgun? 
I was introduced to Shutgun at the IHMRS Show in NYC in 2012.  I was really impressed by the product itself,  the
presentation of the materials, and the service.  My purchase was made
then.
How many Shutguns have you purchased?
24 units total.

What was the decision behind your purchase? 
The quality of the Shutgun is extremely high -Well made.  It’s
also easy to use and requires little to no training to respond to an
emergency.  But the greatest decision point was the fact
that it contained a fusible link
so that if it is used in an emergency, the
sprinkler system will in turn still function if there is another incident.

How have you found the Shutgun useful to date? Absolutely!  We had new
housekeeping associate dusting in and around the laundry room and broke a
sprinkler head.  The Shutgun was quickly at hand and saved us from many
many hours of cleanup, work, and of course limited damage to the facility.

What was the best feature for you in using Shutgun?  Aside from the Fusible Link, the fact that ANYONE
can use it at ANY TIME means that our team members can respond to a situation
at a moments notice.  The local fire depart loves them and are placing
orders too!