Fires are unfortunately common, and they can strike anywhere at any time. However, certain buildings are more at risk than others. In fact, apartments, hotels, offices, and facilities that care for the sick account for half of the high-rise fires across the country. Fire sprinkler services and other fire protection company tools are commonly used in many businesses and buildings all across the country for this exact reason. In fact, to ensure the safety of others, it’s usually frowned upon and against the law to not have some form of fire alarm system in a building.
Sprinklers are part of the fire alarm system tools that many people are familiar with. You will see them in the ceiling and know that they go off if fire is present. When the sprinkler system goes off, water and other liquids that can help put a fire out are released from the unit. While you may think that’s all there is to know about fire sprinklers, that’s not actually the case.
So, how do fire sprinklers actually work? First, what you might not realize is that sprinklers are actually filled with a small amount of colorful liquid. Each color represents a certain amount of heat that it can handle. When that specific liquid reaches its maximum heat allowance, it expands. At this point, the bulb where the liquid was stored will eventually break and water will begin to pour out. This ensures that fire sprinklers don’t activate unless a fire is actually present — not smoke, just fire.
One main concern associated with fire sprinklers is that if they go off, they will ruin everything in their path. While this is true, these devices have been carefully designed so that false activation are virtually impossible. What is more important to you? Losing some material items that will likely be covered by insurance anyway, or losing lives and an entire building?
However, it’s important to note that a fire sprinkler won’t be able to put out a huge fire without backup from the local fire department. The sprinklers are only able to administer about 18 gallons per minute, while a fire hose used by a fire department will be able to deliver much, much more. That being said, without sprinklers from a fire protection company, a small fire could easily spread unchecked.
One common question about fire sprinklers is, “If one sprinkler goes off, will they all go off?” The simple answer is no. As explained above, fire sprinkler services are only activated when a certain temperature threshold is crossed. That means that one fire sprinkler going off will not automatically cause any other sprinkler units to activate. It all depends on how much heat reaches which sprinkler at which time.
Fire sprinklers are extremely useful tools in many buildings all across the country. They can help save lives, save properties, and save a lot of heartaches. Reach out to your fire protection company for information on how to get one.
