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Insight provides the global fire sprinkler community a look at news, events, and education that impacts them.
How fast can a fire take a life or hundreds of lives? Testing proves that in as little as a minute after a fire starts, there can be lethal levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and temperature with insufficient oxygen to sustain life. In less than 90 seconds, a room overtaken with fire may not be survivable even at the floor level as heat and toxic gas levels descend rapidly.
Yet with a fire sprinkler system, the outcome can change dramatically. There has never been a building fire that resulted in multiple occupant loss of life when the structure was protected with a properly designed, installed, and maintained fire sprinkler system using properly certified components. The International Fire Suppression Alliance is working to continue that record Fact: A fire suppression system is a network of piping, sprinklers, water supply, and a pump, all work together to effectively fight and control a fire.
Unfortunately, not all fire sprinkler systems are created equally. The growing use of fire sprinklers has created an opportunity for some manufacturers to enter the market using non-certified products, products that should perform properly after years or decades of quiet service, but don't. So how do you assure your fire sprinkler system products are of the highest quality?
Start with certification Fact: Today, the market is flooded with knockoff sprinkler system products that may look sleek but aren't dependable. Just like a great paint job can't save a cheaply made car, a shiny exterior and fake or no certification from a reputable organization means a sprinkler system will not perform under extreme conditions.
The materials can melt, perform poorly, or fail entirely. For example, this non-certified sprinkler sample was exposed to a standard test in which sprinklers must withstand extreme temperatures for 15 minutes while still retaining the ability to effectively distribute water. This non-certified sprinkler started melting within 60 seconds.
These sprinklers, advertised as Early Suppression Fast Response, ESFR sprinklers, are similar to many of the sprinklers installed in warehouse facilities in China. The sprinklers were not marked as being certified by any certification organization. Poor quality, shoddy materials, and non-certified products can cost lives and contribute to property loss.
Fact: Because non-certified products can cause an entire system to fail, government agencies need to take notice. For example, in Brazil, the percentage of non-certified sprinklers has been increasing at an alarming rate. Recently, the Brazilian Fire Sprinkler Association ordered the extraction and testing of non-certified sprinklers from two buildings in São Paulo: a high-rise office space and a public parking garage.
The sprinklers extracted from both locations tested deficient in about half of the areas examined. These sprinklers were not of sufficient quality to have ever achieved certification. Their deficiencies would have severely compromised their ability to save lives or property. Fire sprinkler systems are only as good as their weakest component.
It's not enough to install a sprinkler system. You have to install an approved system using certified products. The products in the two locations in São Paulo were replaced with properly certified sprinklers, but no one knows how many other buildings continue to present a danger to the public due to the existence of non-certified sprinklers.
We encourage all governmental authorities to require that sprinklers be tested and evaluated in accordance with appropriate product standards and properly certified as such. Fact: certification is the result of intensive testing of materials, components, and finished units under extreme conditions. To assure your sprinklers are certified, look for the mark of a quality product certification laboratory, such as those of Underwriters Laboratories, FM Approvals, VDS, or LPCB.
These independent laboratories use tests aimed at ensuring product quality and have cooperated in the development of ISO standards to assure that other certification bodies worldwide also employ proper test measures. The certification marks on sprinklers should also be cross-referenced with the online directories of approval from UL, FM, VDS, or LPCB to ensure the legitimacy of the markings.
The IFSA website can point you to these online directories. The general public trusts building owners, contractors, and fire sprinkler design professionals to install certified quality sprinkler system equipment. Nothing's more important than the integrity of your fire sprinkler system, and nothing builds that integrity more than using certified components.
At IFSA, we wanna make sure you've got the facts you need to install certified products with confidence. IFSA makes educating and training professionals like you one of our top priorities. Our goal is to have designers, builders, and contractors only use products featuring the certification mark of a recognized fire sprinkler testing laboratory, and we want you to hold your competitors and peers accountable as well.
To learn more about assuring your sprinkler system products are certified, contact us. We're here to help