BY DEAN J. MAGGOS
In metropolitan Chicago, more and more fixed fire protection systems are being installed in buildings as areas are developed and redeveloped. More than 30 Chicago suburbs now require the installation of fire sprinklers in new single-family construction. As these systems’ benefits have been recognized, code requirements for them have become more stringent. As more of these fire protection systems are installed in your area, it is your responsibility to understand how they work. Departments should keep up to date on the types of sprinkler systems being installed in their communities, especially regarding the differences among those installed in residential dwellings.
La Grange Park (IL) Fire Department firefighters attend regular training sessions on fire sprinkler systems. In the Chicago area, fire, building, and water officials from communities that have adopted or are planning to adopt single-family sprinkler ordinances regularly meet to discuss their local codes and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes.
Familarizing yourself with the details of fire protection systems enables you do your job more effectively and allows you to use them to your advantage during fire attack (e.g., complex smoke control systems) or to reduce property damage by knowing how to stop the water flow in a residential sprinkler system.
Most of us first learned about fire sprinklers back in the fire academy. Since that time, we should have received in-service training on such systems and obtained some experience responding to fires at which the sprinklers were operating or the forklift (occasionally) took out a head. When responding to system activations, we have all learned how important it is to make sure the fire is out before we shut down the system, which we should never forget. But what about performing salvage once a fire is out or when a system activates accidentally as a result of damage?
ONCE THE FIRE IS OUT
Once it is determined that a system can be shut down (the fire has been extinguished), it is imperative we do what we can to stop the water flow as quickly as possible. This is important at commercial occupancies, with which we have the most experience with sprinklers, to prevent water from further damaging files, stock, and manufacturing equipment.
Although in residential occupancies such damage is not costly in terms of contents, salvage is still extremely important at residential properties, in which more and more systems are being installed.
One’s home and personal belongings are extremely valuable to that person, even if it’s just an apartment. If installed in accordance with NFPA 13D or 13R, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Residential Occupancies up to and Including Four Stories in Height, residential sprinkler systems have a great track record for saving lives and property. However, let’s not allow these systems to cause more damage than they should by not understanding how they work or what can be done to prevent further damage.
WHY RESIDENTIAL?
To emphasize the importance of understanding these systems’ operation and how we can impact their effectiveness, we need to discuss why they are being installed. Again, our most basic mission is to save lives and property.
Residential sprinkler systems, if properly installed and maintained, are the most effective way to complete this mission. Remember, these are considered to be “life safety” systems. Let’s face it, about 80 percent of fire deaths occur in residential fires. Residential fire sprinklers extinguish about 96 percent of fires using two sprinklers or less.
Also, in most instances, residential fire sprinklers will activate in the first few minutes of the fire’s ignition. This means that most of the time, the sprinklers will begin extinguishing the fire before the occupants have time to escape and call us.
Now, consider how much time elapses from the fire’s ignition to its discovery to calling the fire department to processing the call. Then firefighters have to be dispatched, don their turnout gear, travel to the scene, and set up operations. Even if someone is home, there is a good chance the sprinkler will have been suppressing the fire for several minutes before you arrive.
What about water damage? A residential fire sprinkler puts out only about 18 to 26 gpm, which is much less than the average initial attack line.
MULTIFAMILY, MULTISTORY, MULTITASKS
For those of you who do a great deal of training in multifamily dwellings with sprinklers, this may just be a reminder. For others, it is valuable information. If a sprinkler activates in a multifamily, multistory building, one of our first tasks should be to shut down the fire pump (if there is one), which will greatly reduce the flow.
Next, stop the water flow using tongs or wood chocks, although I don’t see this happen often. With specifically “residential” sprinkler heads, this is not always possible; although there are kits available to help you.
After doing this, shut down the floor control valve (usually located in the stairwell but sometimes hidden above the ceiling in corridors). I’ve seen way too many firefighters first try to locate the main control valve on the first floor or in the basement, taking the entire system down and letting water from piping near and above the activation site drain through the single open sprinkler orifice. This creates unnecessary water damage and is somewhat irrational in this day of highly trained firefighters.
Once such flow is stopped at any control valve, be sure to open the sectional drain valve (adjacent to the floor control valve) in the area to reduce the great amount of water heading for the sprinkler.
SINGLE-FAMILY, SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
In addition to sprinklers being installed in multifamily, multistory buildings, many more communities throughout the nation are now requiring sprinklers in single-family homes. More than 30 Chicago suburbs now require the installation of fire sprinklers in new single-family construction. What should we be thinking about in these occupancies, once the fire is extinguished or a sprinkler is damaged and discharges? These systems, although they are quite similar, have some distinct differences from those used in multifamily, multistory structures.
One difference is that some of these systems are connected to central stations whereas others activate only local notification devices, such as interior bells or exterior horn/strobes. It’s critical to know how these systems are designed if you have sprinklered homes in your response areas or if you may likely be first due to a home with sprinklers, which is becoming more common.
Let’s consider a system with the exterior horn/strobe designed to activate only on water flow-this device is not supposed to activate on any other alarm. You are then called to this house because the horn/strobe is activated. No one is home and, as usual, the neighbor doesn’t have a key.
These residential sprinkler systems are designed to go off so quickly that you most likely would have no clue as to whether a fire has occurred. In this case, you need to remember that if the horn/strobe is activated and water is flowing, either because of a fire or possibly a break resulting from frozen pipes in an unheated building-as happens in winter-you most likely would have to take action to prevent further damage, whether from fire or water.
Once inside, if you find a fire extinguished or water issuing from the system, there are some other things to remember. Most single-family home systems do not have floor control valves, so you would need to stop flow at the sprinkler (using tongs, chocks, or some other tool if possible) or at the main control valve where the water enters the home.
 3) Fire sprinklers installed in the wall of a single-family dwelling. Note the coordination with the electrical conduit. |
In homes with fire pumps, the water may enter there, so you may need to shut it down. Remember, you probably don’t have floor control valves, so if the activation is on the lower floors, all the water from the upper floors is coming your way.
Make sure you open the main drain to quickly empty the system. Another way to mitigate water damage until the water flow stops is to hold the coupling of a 13⁄4-inch hose over the sprinkler and run the hose back out a window or a door. One of our firefighters who happens to be a plumber suggested this solution.
There is a lot more to learn about sprinkler systems and salvage; I just covered a few basics. Some of you more suppression-oriented people probably found it difficult reading about sprinklers. But let’s face it, we are responsible for saving lives and property, which has always included salvage. This is just another critical aspect. If someone spends money to install sprinklers in his home or business and the sprinklers do their job, it would be a shame if additional personal belongings and property were damaged because we didn’t thoroughly understand our job as it relates to sprinklers. ■
■ DEAN J. MAGGOS is a 22-year veteran of the fire service and the director of fire and building for La Grange Park, Illinois. He is a state certified fire officer III, fire prevention officer, and fire investigator. He has a master’s degree in public safety administration from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree in fire science management from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
