Fire sprinklers are powerful, essential systems for many of today’s businesses. In the event of a fire, a well-functioning sprinkler system can extinguish the flames and save untold amounts of property damage. They are effective at preventing catastrophic damage when they function as intended. But these systems are also capable of creating significant water damage, especially when they activate for a false alarm. In the latter scenario, a fire sprinkler shut off tool can be the difference between minor water damage and a major problem.
In this post, we’re going to answer whether all the fire sprinklers in a system activate in a fire emergency. We’ll also look at how a fire sprinkler shut off tool can help in the case of a false alarm.’’
Do All the Fire Sprinkler Heads Activate During a Fire?
The answer to this critical question is usually no, though it depends on the type of system your building uses. One type, the deluge system, will activate in its entirety. But most commercial and office facilities will not use this type.
There are plenty of types of fire sprinkler systems. One industry expert outlines six different technologies you might encounter. Most businesses, though, are likely to stick with one of the following three types.
Wet Pipe Systems
Wet pipe systems are your most basic conventional sprinkler system. Their affordability is a significant reason for their popularity. Wet pipe systems have sprinkler heads attached to pipes running full of water. When a sprinkler head sensor is triggered (usually due to heat), water sprays. Wet pipe systems, then, don’t turn on all at once. Only affected sprinkler heads activate.
Wet pipe systems are great for many office and commercial environments, but they are susceptible to freezing in cold weather in spaces that aren’t temperature controlled.
Dry Pipe Systems
Dry pipe systems are a step up in complexity and cost. With these systems, there’s no water in the overhead pipes, making them ideal for semi-outdoor areas and cold rooms like industrial refrigerators. They are instead pressurized with either air or nitrogen. Here, too, heat activates individual sprinkler heads, which will vent the pressurized air and, after a short delay, spray water. This means the entire system does not activate at once.
Deluge Systems
Deluge systems deliver on their name, opening the entire system when a fire threat is detected. Though Hollywood makes it seem like every system is a deluge system, these are usually reserved for hazardous or high-risk scenarios — not your office.
Shutgun: A Fire Sprinkler Shut Off Tool for False Alarms and Accidents
As valuable as fire sprinkler systems are in the modern business world, accidents and possible false alarms, perhaps the fire alarm that was installed incorrectly in a hot zone, or is defective. We’ve found that a single sprinkler head does an average of $35,000 in water damage before the fire department arrives to disable it. You need the ability to manually shut off an offending or broken sprinkler head.
Shutgun is that solution. Check out our many case studies to see how Shutgun has saved customers millions.
Ready to purchase? Buy your Shutgun today.