 This typical sprinkler head will spray water into the room if a fire is detected. Sprinkler systems for fire protection consist of overhead pipes fitted with sprinkler heads. Each head is held closed independently by heat-sensitive seals. These seals prevent water flow until a design temperature is exceeded by the individual sprinkler heads. Seals may be broken by melting (fusing) of metals with a low melting point (often bismuth alloys), or may be glass bulbs that break from pressure differences when heated. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
The word pipe can refer to: The basic cylindrical pipe shape a tubular man-made channel, generally round in cross section, in steel or concrete for transporting or guiding a fluid substance see plumbing and pipeline transport used in construction as column, truss element or space frame in mechanical engineering...
The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number bismuth, Bi, 83 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 15, 6, p Appearance lustrous reddish white Atomic mass 208. ...
alloys is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resultant material has metallic properties. ...
The materials definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. ...
Sprinklers have been in use in the United States since 1874, and were used in factory applications where fire losses at the turn of the century were often catastrophic in terms of both human and property losses. In the US, sprinklers are today required in all high rise and underground buildings generally 75 feet (23 m) above or below fire department access, where the ability of firefighters to provide adequate hose streams to fires is limited. Sprinklers may also be required in hazardous storage spaces by building codes, or may be required by insurance companies where liability due to potential property losses or business interruptions can be reduced by adequate automatic fire protection. Building codes in the United States for places of assembly, generally over 100 persons, and places with overnight sleeping accommodation such as hotels, nursing homes, dormitories, and hospitals usually require sprinklers. 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
Firefighter in full turn out gear with a pickhead axe. ...
A hazardous material (HAZMAT) is any solid, liquid, or gas that can cause harm to humans and other living organisms due to being radioactive, flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive, a biohazard, an oxidizer, an asphyxiant, or capable of causing severe allergic reactions. ...
A building code is a set of laws that specify how buildings should be constructed. ...
Insurance is a system to alleviate financial losses by transferring risk of loss from one entity to another. ...
In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance, or puts one at a disadvantage. ...
A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging, usually on a short-term basis. ...
A nursing home is a place of residence for people who require constant medical care. ...
A typical American college dorm room A dormitory or dorm is a place to sleep. ...
A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ...
Typical sprinkler head activation temperatures are 135 °F (57 °C), 155 °F (68 °C), 200 °F (93 °C), and 286 °F (141 °C), which correspond to the type of hazard the sprinkler system protects against. Life safety hazards, such as residential occupancies, use a lower (therefore quicker) activation temperature. Each sprinkler activates independently. The design intention is to limit the total number of sprinklers that operate, thereby providing the maximum water supply available from the water source to the point of fire origin. Standard wet sprinkler systems are designed for 1500 square feet (140 m²), and maximum water supplies of about 300 US gallons per minute (20 L/s).
Typical "wet" systems are simple and passive, requiring no manual controls to activate, so long as adequate water supplies are provided. Specialty systems called "dry" systems, designed for unheated spaces, have a low "maintenance" air pressure in the pipes, which can be displaced by water in the event that a sprinkler "fuses" allowing the maintenance air pressure to reach a minimum pressure point. "Pre-action" systems are highly specialized for locations where accidental activation is unacceptable such as museums with rare art works, manuscripts, or books. Pre-action valves are connected to fire alarm initiating devices such as smoke detectors or heat detectors and virtually eliminate the possibility of accidental water flow. In the event that there is a fire, the fire, and the fire department's hose streams which provide around 250 US gallons per minute (15 L/s), will do more damage than sprinkler activation, generally around 14 US gallons per minute (1 L/s), per sprinkler. "Deluge" systems are used for special hazards where rapid fire spread is a concern. Deluge systems have open sprinklers, i.e. the fusible link is removed, so that every sprinkler served by the system will discharge water. This ensures a large and simultaneous application of water over the entire hazard. A museum is typically a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ...
A Wheelock MT-24-LSM fire alarm horn and strobe. ...
Residential ceiling-mounted smoke detector A smoke detector (sometimes called a smoke alarm) is a safety device that detects airborne smoke and issues an audible alarm, thereby alerting nearby people to the danger of fire. ...
Other specialty systems may have foam instead of water suppression agents for fire protection in occupancies with flammable liquids, such as airport hangars. "Clean agent" gaseous systems, such as Argon/CO2/Nitrogen mixtures can be used in very small spaces where water cannot be used for suppression. Foam The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. ...
Hangars can be used to hold airplanes, airships and helicopters. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 39. ...
Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ...
Cost of sprinkler systems run from US$2 - $5 per square foot ($50/m²), depending on type and location, however specialty systems may cost as much as $10/square foot ($100/m²). Systems can be installed during construction or retrofitted. Some communities have laws requiring residential sprinkler systems, where large municipal hydrant water supplies ("fire flows") are not available. Nationwide in the United States, one and two-family homes generally do not require fire sprinkler systems, although the overwhelming loss of life due to fires occurs in these spaces. Residential sprinkler systems are relatively inexpensive (about the same per square foot as carpeting or floor tiling), but require larger water supply piping than is normally installed in homes, so retrofitting is usually cost prohibitive. Yellow Fire Hydrant A fire hydrant (or colloquially in the US, fire plug) is a source of water provided by most metropolitan communities to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water supply to assist in extinguishing a fire. ...
According to the National Fire Protection Association, fires in hotels with sprinklers averaged 78% less damage than fires in hotels without them (1983-1987). The NFPA says the average loss per fire in buildings with sprinklers was $2,300, compared to an average loss of $10,300 in unsprinklered buildings. The NFPA adds that there is no record of a fatality in a fully sprinklered building outside the point of fire origin. However, in a purely economic comparison, this is not a complete picture; the total costs of fitting, and the costs arising from non-fire triggered release must be factored. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is an international organization charged with creating and maintaining minimum standards and requirements for fire prevention and suppression activities, training, and equipment, as well as other life-safety codes and standards. ...
1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The NFPA states that it "has no record of a fire killing more than two people in a completely sprinklered building where a sprinkler system was properly operating, except in an explosion or flash fire or where industrial fire brigade members or employees were killed during fire suppression operations." A flash fire is an unexpected, sudden intense fire caused by ignition of flammable solids, liquids or their vapors, gases, or dust. ...
The world's largest fire sprinkler manufacturer is the Grinnell division of Tyco International, other manufacturers are Viking Sprinkler Co. and Reliable Sprinkler Company. Tyco International Ltd. ...
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