Fire sprinkler systems play an important and vital role in fire prevention. The systems have evolved from the primitive to the complex and developed a language all their own.
Any discussion of the verbiage used in reference to fire sprinklers should include a definition of the NFPA. The National Fire Protection Association is an organization that has become an international leader in the establishment of standards for fire control. The standards are called consensus standards and codes. This regulations are not always laws, but represent the combined feeling that they are the best ways to protect against loss of human life and property damage through fire.
The phase passive system is used in fire protection standards to refer to such things as fire doors, fire walls, and other types of containment systems. The idea of the passive systems is to keep the fire confined to a smaller area offering the opportunity for escape and to make extinguishing easier once safety is assured. Fire sprinklers are active systems and the presence of sprinklers often makes the need for passive systems less urgent. This can lead to less expensive and more user friendly structures.
Some fire sprinkler systems are what would be called mechanical. This means that they are activated manually. The water comes out of the sprinklers when someone opens up a valve allowing the water to reach the sprinkler head. Automatic fire sprinkler systems obviously offer more complete protection because a human operator is not necessary to activate them. They work by measuring ambient temperature at the nozzle opening. A device known as a Thermal Operating Linkage holds back pressurized water until the temperature rises to the operating temperature. After a time delay, the sprinkler head “activates” and water is released.
The advantages of automatic systems are obvious. They provide protection around the clock and do not need a human operator. There are other terms associated with fire sprinklers including the names of the various parts of the nozzles themselves. A deflector, for example, is the term for the part of the nozzle that creates a spray rather than a stream of water maximizing the fire fighting characteristics of the device.
It might be that the two most important fire sprinkler words are maintenance and monitoring. Maintenance is the required physical work that must be done to keep any system in perfect operating condition. Monitoring is the act of observing the system on a regular basis to insure it is in perfect operating condition. The key to a successful fire sprinkler system and fire safety itself is unrelenting attention to monitoring and maintenance.
Aazdak Alisimo writes about
fire safety for FireSprinklerSystemInstallers.com where you can find a directory of
fire sprinkler system installers and experts across the country.
