Sprinkler Systems & Fire Safety for Hospitals, Care Homes, Residential and Nursing Homes
Fire Defence has been protecting Hospitals, Care Homes, Residential Homes and Nursing Homes with our fire protection sprinkler systems for over 30 years.
Care Homes, Residential Homes Nursing Homes and Hospitals present difficult challenges with regards to fire safety. This is due to the likelihood of residents needing help to escape in the event of fire or an emergency. If help is required for residents evacuation times are likely to be significantly longer and when a fire is spreading through a building this could have serious consequences to residents, staff and property.
An example of the horror which can occur in a care home happened in 2003 when a small fire broke out in Rosepark Nursing Home in Uddingston, near Glasgow. Even though the fire was small it claimed the lives of 13 residents, all due to smoke inhalation. It is widely accepted by senior fire chiefs that if a fire protection sprinkler system or a fire protection supression system was installed at the home it would have stopped the fire in its infancy, meaning less smoke and enough time for all the residents to be evacuated safely. Fire Protection Sprinklers would have also helped to wash the larger particles out of smoke reducing its density and toxicity. In addition the water cools the smoke making it less harmful.
Assistant firemaster Rab Coke, chairman of the Scottish fire safety network "No matter how many fire precautions, in terms of smoke detection equipment and educational material, we give to some people, they're hard to reach, they're difficult, and only domestic sprinklers would be the way forward as a means to protect them."
Evacuation
The occupancy characteristics of those who live in or visit these buildings are no longer completely independent and require additional support. Although the levels of independence vary it is widely accepted that due to the support required to evacuate the occupancy of these buildings evacuation times are significantly increased. To protect these vulnerable people, manning levels for floor numbers of resident are set by legislation. However, there are often inadequate staffing levels to be able to evacuate residents within the time allowed under fire regulations. For example in an evacuation it can often take two members of staff several minutes to evacuate one resident. Therefore, if you have 20 residents realistically you would need about 40 staff to evacuate the whole building within fire regulations time limits.
With a fire sprinkler and suppression system "stay put" fire strategies can be developed whereby only residents in immediate danger are moved. Various studies, have established the effectiveness of these risk management procedures.
There are also large cost savings which can be achieved with trade off costs and benefits which once deducted from the initial capital costs make sprinklers a very viable option in new Care Homes, Residential Homes, Nursing Homes and Hospitals. Other savings with automatic fire protection sprinkler systems are lower insurance premiums, greater flexibility over building design (including materials used) and greater compartmentation.
Staffing levels can also be lowered and the use of less cumbersome equipment is needed for evacuation (stair negotiating). With less training and maintenance required savings can be achieved in many areas of nursing and residential homes.
Note - Extracts taken form "Sprinklers for Safer Living" by the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association: www.bafsa.org.uk
Examples of the clients we have worked with
| Client | Project | Project Description | Value |
| Gull Rock | Rock | Various Modifications | £24,000 |
| Drill Hall | Barnstaple | Various Modifications | Less than £1000 |
| Signpost Housing | Exeter Bungalows | Various Modifications | £6000 |
| BL Schroder | Residential/Shooting Lodge | Sprinkler System | £150,000 |
| N G Bailey | Arora Hotel | Sprinkler System, Pumps and tanks | £330,000 |
Domestic Premises, Residential Houses and Hotels
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