New Domestic Fire Sprinklers save money and lives

New Domestic Fire Sprinklers save money and lives

The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) has developed a fire sprinkler system for residential houses that provides a high level of fire protection for a fraction of the cost of traditional sprinkler systems.

“Each year around 25 people die in house fires in New Zealand; far more fatalities and injuries occur from fires within homes than commercial buildings,” says BRANZ Chief Executive Dr Allan Nichols,

This was the reason the New Zealand Fire Service funded BRANZ to carry out research with the intention of developing an affordable domestic sprinkler system. Cost and ease of installation were seen as the major impediments to the uptake of traditional sprinkler systems in new homes.

“The Fire Service’s campaign to encourage people to install smoke alarms goes some way to addressing these human tragedies by alerting people to a fire at an early stage. However, a better way of tackling the problem is to enable each new home to have an economical fire sprinkler system that will control the fire in its early stages and stop it from spreading whilst people get out.”

The research established that an effective sprinkler system could be integrated into the same cold water plumbing that supplies water throughout the house. The additional cost of having the combination domestic plumbing/fire sprinkler system installed during the construction of a three bedroom home was only $1,000, as opposed to a traditional stand-alone sprinkler system costing more than $8,000.

Following the completion of the research, BRANZ developed a guide for plumbers and the wider building industry on the installation of the combination sprinkler system and has contributed to the development of a new Standard for sprinkler systems for houses. The new Standard, NZS 4517 Fire Sprinkler Systems for Houses, gives specific design guidance on how sprinkler systems may be combined with domestic plumbing.

Next year, to ensure designers, architects, registered plumbers, contractors, building officials and building certifiers are familiar with the new technology and design, BRANZ will offer a course in sprinkler design. Course participants will be able to achieve a BRANZ Certificate in Sprinkler Design for Houses.

Established over 30 years ago, BRANZ carries out a major research programme including fire and structural safety, building durability, and the environmental impact of buildings, which includes energy efficiency and weathertightness. In addition BRANZ runs seminars and produces publications based on its research findings and other information for the building and construction industry.

“For people building a new home, this fire sprinkler system will provide an affordable level of protection never before available in New Zealand,” Dr Nichols said.

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