Sprinklers
For many years NIST has been conducting research to promote the use and importance of residential sprinklers.
Home Dangers: Every year more than 3,000 Americans die in home fires and more than 18,000 are injured. Children and the elderly are especially at risk in home fires because they are less able to escape when fire strikes. The best way to protect those who cannot quickly escape, and at the same time protect your home and belongings, is by installing sprinklers.
Residential Sprinklers: Like the fire sprinklers found in most public buildings, residential sprinklers stand ready 24 hours a day to detect and extinguish fires before they can become a threat to lives or property. As life safety devices residential fire sprinklers are designed to react more quickly than their commercial cousins and thus need less water to do their work. Each sprinkler operates independently, so most home fires are extinguished by one or two heads with only a few gallons of water.
Where do you find them?: Residential sprinklers used to be found only in a few, upscale homes. Today many areas require sprinklers in all new apartments and some require them in all new homes. The sprinkler industry supports a program with Habitat for Humanity to install sprinklers in homes they build. So increasingly sprinklers are protecting low income Americans.
Water Supplies: Fire sprinklers require a reliable source of water; either a city water connection or a storage tank for about 100 gallons and a pump. Sprinklers can share a common supply and piping with the domestic water system, reducing cost but requiring additional storage capacity. The main problem with stored water is protecting it from freezing.
Proper Design: Many builders offer fire sprinklers as an option. Where sprinklers are installed later it is important to use a qualified designer and installer. For example, sloped or beamed ceilings require special design and installation considerations. Look for a certified fire sprinkler contractor to be sure its done right.
Maintenance: Fire sprinkler systems require periodic maintenance and inspection. This is not a do-it-yourself job and should be left to a qualified contractor. Never paint sprinklers, it can prevent them from operating in a fire.
Insurance Savings: If you have fire sprinklers you may be eligible for a discount on your property insurance. Ask your agent.
Don't Forget the Smoke Alarms: Even though fire sprinklers are effective life safety devices you still need smoke alarms. Some fires can begin as smoldering fires that produce smoke and gases but without appreciable heat to activate the sprinklers. Smoke alarms are needed to provide warning for these situations.
*For a description of what is seen in this video, click here.
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Impact of a Residential Sprinkler on the Heat Release Rate of a Christmas Tree Fire
Although the number of Christmas tree fires is low, these fires carry a higher level of hazard than other fires that occur in a residential structure. This study, supported by the U. S. Fire Administration, has the following three objectives: 1) characterize the heat release rate of dry Fraser fir trees 2) demonstrate the ignition resistance of a tree with a high moisture content and 3) examine the impact of a residential sprinkler on the heat release rate of a dry tree that is on fire in a compartment.
The heat release rates of the trees which were allowed to dry ranged from 3.2 MW to 4.3 MW. Trees that were kept in water, so that the needles maintained a moisture content in excess of 100 %, self-extinguished after being exposed to a flaming book of matches.
The data from the furnished sprinklered room experiment demonstrated that even under conditions of extreme fire growth, a single sprinkler was able to prevent flashover and limit the spread of fire to other objects. The peak heat release rate, from the sprinklered room, was limited to approximately 1.8 MW. The furnished non-sprinklered room experiment generated a post-flashover heat release rate in excess of 6 MW.
Videos:
*For a description of what is seen in this video, click here.
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Downloadable Videos:
These videos show the importance of maintaining your trees as well as the impact of residential sprinkler systems.
The photos above are a series of photographs that show
the stages of fire growth from just after ignition to just before total
burn out. The span of time from left to right is approximately 60 seconds.
Note the amount of vertical flame spread versus the horizontal flame spread
in the second photograph. In the last photograph of the series, the majority
of the tree trunk and many of the larger branches are intact after the needles
have burned away.
The two left photographs above are comparison of the
sprinklered room, on the left, with the unsprinklered room (Both photos
were taken at approximately 1 minute after ignition.) The two photos on
the right are post fire photographs (Sprinklered room on the left and non-sprinklered
room on the right.)
Quick Response Sprinklers in a Chemical Laboratories
The National Institute of Health (NIH) had expressed a need for developing sprinkler design criteria for use in chemical laboratories to ensure adequate, cost effective fire protection. The Center for Fire Research and The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) teamed up and composed a series of fire tests in typical chemical laboratories in order to address the use of quick response sprinkler technology. For each test, the performance of an automatic sprinkler system in extinguishing a fire originating in an acetone spill was evaluated. The test parameters included standard sprinklers with exposed steel piping, quick response sprinklers with exposed steel piping, quick response sprinklers with exposed plastic piping, quick response sidewall sprinklers and no sprinklers. Measurements of air temperature and the concentration of oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide were taken. A free burn test was conducted to characterize the heat release rate of the initial items ignited.
Sprinklered Acetone Fire Test at 1 min. Non-Sprinklered Acetone Fire Test at 1 min.
*Timestamps are not accurate in the above pictures or the below videos.
Videos:
- No Sprinkler.wmv, 61.8 MB
- Quick Response Sprinkler.wmv, 39.2 MB
- Quick Response Pendent Sprinkler.wmv, 37.7 MB
- Standard Upright Sprinkler.wmv, 39.7 MB
- Quick Response Sidewall Sprinkler.wmv, 49.7 MB
Impact of Sprinklers on Dormitory Fires
As part of a U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) initiative to improve fire safety in college housing, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted two series of full-scale fire experiments in abandoned dormitory buildings. The objective of the study is to compare the levels of hazard created by room fires in a dormitory building with and without automatic fire sprinklers in the room of fire origin.
One series of experiments was conducted with the fires initiated in a dormitory sleeping room. These experiments were conducted by NIST in cooperation with the University of Arkansas and the Fayetteville Fire Department. Another series of experiments was conducted with the fires initiated in a day room area open to the corridor of the dormitory. These experiments were conducted by NIST in cooperation with the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority, the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
Videos:
*For a description of what is seen in this video, click here.
*If using Internet Explorer, allow ActiveX to run when prompted. If using Mozilla Firefox, you may need to download the Windows Media Plug-in here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:7.
- College_Dorm.mpg, 318MB, College Dorm Room, Waste Basket Ignition, Sprinklered/Non-Sprinklered
- DR1&3_east_combined.mpg, 91.4MB, College Day Room 1&3, Sprinklered/Non-Sprinklered, from the East
- DR1_combined.mpg, 39.5MB
- DR1_east.mpg, 39.6MB
- DR1_north.mpg, 39.6MB
- DR1_west.mpg, 70.7MB
- DR2_combined.mpg, 70.7MB
- DR2_east.mpg, 70.7MB
- DR2_north.mpg, 70.7MB
- DR2_west.mpg, 70.7MB
- DR3_combined.mpg, 70.7MB
- DR3_east.mpg, 20.4MB
- DR3_north.mpg 29MB
The photos above are from the College Dorm Video
and show the comparison of the rooms prior to ignition and just after
sprinkler activation.
These two photographs show the non-sprinklered dorm
room transitioning to and after flashover
The photos above show a comparison between the sprinklered
and non-sprinklered room post fire.
Technical Investigation of the Station Nightclub Fire
A fire occurred on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, in The Station nightclub at 211 Cowesett Avenue, West Warwick, Rhode Island. A band that was on the platform that night, during its performance, used pyrotechnics that ignited polyurethane foam insulation lining the walls and ceiling of the platform. The fire spread quickly along the walls and ceiling area over the dance floor. Smoke was visible in the exit doorways in a little more than one minute, and flames were observed breaking through a portion of the roof in less than five minutes. Egress from the nightclub, which was not equipped with sprinklers, was hampered by crowding at the main entrance to the building. One hundred people lost their lives in the fire. On Feb. 27, 2003, under the authority of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established a National Construction Safety Team to determine the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure that led to the high number of casualties in that fire.
In response to this fire NIST produced a two volume report which can be found here. This report documents the procedures, findings, and issues that were raised by the investigation. Volume I contains the main report and Volume II contains the appendix material. In addition to this report a full scale test was done to see what impact a sprinkler system could have had on the outcome of the fire. This video can be found below as well as a link to download it for your own personal use.
*For a description of what is seen in this video, click here.
*If using Internet Explorer, allow ActiveX to run when prompted. If using Mozilla Firefox, you may need to download the Windows Media Plug-in here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:7.
Station Sprinklered.wmv, 2.98 MB
Additional Reports:
Effect
of Recessed Sprinkler Installation on Sprinkler Activation Time and
Prediction
Madrzykowski, D., Thesis; 158 p. 1993.
Evaluation
of Sprinkler Activation Prediction Methods
Madrzykowski, D., Interscience Communications Limited. ASIAFLAM '95.
International Conference on Fire Science and Engineering, 1st. Proceedings.
March 15-16, 1995, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 211-218 pp, 1995.
Investigation
of Conduction Effects on Sprinkler Activation
Mack, E. C.; Madrzykowski, D., Fire Research and Engineering, Second
(2nd) International Conference. (ICFRE2). Proceedings. ABSTRACTS ONLY.
National Institute of Standards and Technology and Society of Fire Protection
Engineers. August 10-15, 1997, Gaithersburg, MD, Slaughter, K. C., Editor(s),
65-65 pp, 1997.
Review
of Residential Sprinkler Systems: Research and Standards
Madrzykowski, D.; Fleming, R. P. NISTIR 6941; 30 p. December 2002.
Water
Additives for Increased Efficiency of Fire Protection and Suppression
Madrzykowski, D., U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural
Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 14th Joint panel Meeting.
May 28-June 3, 1998, Tsukuba, Japan, 166-171 pp, 1998 AND Fire Detection,
Fire Extinguishment and Fire Safety Engineering. NRIFD 50th Anniversary
Symposium. Proceedings. Fire Fighting Future 50th Session (FFF50th).
Organized by National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster (NRIFD)
and Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) and Sponsored by Fire
Protection Equipment and Safety Center. June 1, 1998, Tokyo, Japan,
1-6 pp, 1998, Tokyo, Japan, 1998.
Effect
of an Obstructed Ceiling on the Activation Time of a Residential Sprinkler
Vettori, R. L., NISTIR 6253; 150 p. November 1998.
Effect
of Beamed, Sloped, and Sloped Beamed Ceilings on the Activation TIme
of a Residential Sprinkler
Vettori, R. L., NISTIR 7079; 45 p. December 2003.
Measurement
of Droplet Size in Sprinkler Sprays
Lawson, J. R.; Walton, W. D.; Evans, D. D., NBSIR 88-3715; 51 p. April
1988.
Impact
of Sprinklers on the Fire Hazard in Dormitories: Day Room Fire Experiments
Madrzykowski, D.; Stroup, D. W.; Walton, W. D., NISTIR 7120; 87 p. June
2004.
Determination
of Water Spray Drop Size and Speed From a Standard Orifice, Pendent
Spray Sprinkler. Report of Test
Putorti, A. D., Jr.; Belsinger, T. D.; Twilley, W. H., FR 4003; Report
of Test; 14 p. May 27, 1999.
Simultaneous
Measurements of Drop Size and Velocity in Large-Scale Sprinkler Flows
Using Particle Tracking and Laser-Induced Fluorescence
Putorti, A. D., Jr.; Everest, D. A.; Atreya, A., NIST GCR 03-852; 56
p. July 2003.
Simultaneous
Measurements of Drop Size and Velocity in Large-Scale Sprinkler Flows
Using Particle Tracking and Laser-Induced Fluorescence
Putorti, A. D., Jr., NIST GCR 04-861; 322 p. February 2004.
