Building resilience with residential sprinklers

Different cities, different homes, different families—but the same commitment to installing home fire sprinklers in their new residential builds. Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia highlights how a residential sprinkler system can increase the safety of a home without affecting structure or style.

ALANA BEITZ

AFAC

While homeowners, developers and renovators have not always considered residential fire sprinklers in smaller projects, sprinklers have recently become far more affordable and easier to install and maintain, thanks to innovation in their design and changes to building codes.

Regardless of property size or type, sprinklers have a significant impact on occupant safety. While smoke alarms improve survivability in a home fire by around 50%, sprinklers increase that percentage to 80 to 90%. Research also shows that 97% of fires in buildings with sprinklers are contained to the room of origin.

Beyond the statistics and standards, however, the decision to install residential fire sprinklers is often driven by personal reasons. Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia (HFSCA) met two different homeowners who explained why their lifestyles motivated their decision to incorporate sprinklers into their new homes.

Safe and independent living

Mick is building a home for his son Alex in north-west Melbourne, which Alex will share with his friend Rheece. Alex and Rheece both have cerebral palsy, so Mick has considered all aspects of their safety, comfort and care in the design and construction of the home.

“We decided, as two families, to take matters into our own hands and build them a home—not a house, a home—that they could live in for the duration of their lives,” Mick said.

As a career urban firefighter and qualified plumber, Mick says the most important aspect of the construction is the safety of the occupants, particularly as they are less able to evacuate in the event of a fire.

In this situation, every second counts, and Mick knows how effective home fire sprinkler systems can be.

“We all spoke about this and asked what we can do to ensure that, in the event of a fire, we can protect our children’s lives,” explained Mick. “Sprinklers provide a cost-effective, simple solution that we’re very happy to go with.”

Mick is looking forward to seeing Alex and Rheece move into a home that has been carefully designed to accommodate their needs and improve their safety, while providing peace of mind to both families.

“Both of their mums, Faye and Thelma, have devoted 100% of their energy to the boys’ welfare for the last 29 years. As they age, their mums deserve to enjoy some freedom and comfort for themselves. And having a house and a home like this allows for that.”

Protecting against modern risks

Grant and Stephanie are building their dream home in southern Sydney. As part of their vision, they want to include modern features and clever design throughout the construction.

Despite being conscious of their budget, installing a home fire sprinkler system in their home was non-negotiable for Grant and Stephanie.

“One of the big things that you’ll find is, in a modern home with modern home furnishings and synthetic materials, the flashover time (where you simply can’t put that fire out and the occupants won’t survive) can be as little as three minutes in a room,” Grant said.

Despite home fire sprinklers not yet mandated in the construction of his new home, Grant believes they are a must-have safety feature.

“A fire sprinkler will activate within one minute and suppress the fire sufficiently to allow the occupants to escape,” he said. “So, in a modern house, it’s almost a necessity to give the occupants time to escape.”

Industry perspectives

new home is straightforward because the products are those that plumbers would normally use and do not require expertise to install.

The system works off a rainwater tank feed, with a selected pumpset, PEX piping, brass fittings and sprinkler heads.

Clinton Meagher is a builder working on the construction of Grant and Stephanie’s new home and was impressed with the ease of install.

“The most surprising part of this installation was how quick we could actually get it done,” he said. “This is a two-storey home and they’ve roughed it and pressure tested it within two days. Your standard single-story home could be done in a day.”

In Melbourne, Shae Mete of FPA Australia helped Mick to pressure test the sprinkler system he installed in his son’s new home. Shae has been working with fire regulators and the plumbing industry to develop an industry-approved home sprinkler system approach.

“We’ve had plastic pipe systems being introduced into traditional plumbing systems or drinking water systems for a while now, and we’ve managed to incorporate the sprinkler system into the plastic drinking system,” Shae explained.

“That’s meant that we’ve got the

PHOTO: HFSCA

Above Grant and Stephanie oversaw the design of their new home, including the installation of a home fire sprinkler system.

costs down significantly, because we’ve got one trade coming in and completing the installation as one system, using the same pipe and fittings and techniques that they’re currently used to, which has resulted in a much cheaper install.”

Glenn Bines from Auspex is one of the industry partners working alongside Shae to deliver piping systems that meet Australian standards, while also matching the tools and equipment commonly used by residential plumbers. With the FPAA101D specification now allowing sprinklers to be fed by the potable water instead of a separate tap, he sees no reason why home fire sprinkler systems will not now become a standard part of residential builds.

“That’s really important because we can then feed off the normal work that a plumber can do or a fire installer can do,” explained Glenn. “Instead of having a range of pipes coming off a separate tap into the water, we can utilise the existing infrastructure.

“There are also some built-in features to ensure that the sprinklers are working, like connecting the final point to a toilet. So, if the toilet’s not flushing, you know your sprinklers won’t operate,” he said.

Safe but subtle

A major drawcard for a home fire sprinkler system for homeowners is the fact they do not create any visual impact on the home, and contrary to popular belief, only the sprinkler that is closest to the heat from a fire will initially activate.

When people visualise sprinkler systems, images of pipes and sprinkler heads often come to mind. But a modern sprinkler head used in residential occupancies can be a subtle addition to the home.

The residential sprinklers installed in both homes have a flat, white cover plate that faces down from the ceiling of the room and is the only visible part of the sprinkler. The cover plate sits just below the plaster line, so you don’t see the sprinkler head.

For Grant, it means the sprinkler system does not detract from the style of his new home.

“It’s very easy to forget that there is a home fire sprinkler system installed. The equipment is almost invisible,” he said. “It’s like a silent protection, if you like, it fits seamlessly. You barely notice it. Only a trained professional would know what to look for.”

Mick agreed that the sprinkler system was a subtle integration into his son’s new home.

“It’s seamless. Downlights, smoke detectors and ceiling lights are all features of any home, and the sprinklers don’t stand out,” he said. “They blend in with every other architectural lighting feature of the home and it looks like a cover plate for a downlight.”

At approximately 57°C, the fusible link lets go of the cover plate and the sprinkler deflector pops down, but it will remain inactive. At approximately 67°C the sprinkler will activate, spraying water onto the fire.

PHOTO: HFSCA

PHOTO: HFSCA

PHOTO: HFSCA Above Grant demonstrates how the cover plate fits to the residential sprinkler head.

Top left Mick pressure tests the residential sprinkler system in his son's new home.

Left Mick's son Alex and his friend Rheece will benefit from the added safety of a home fire sprinkler system.

To learn more about Grant and Mick’s experience installing sprinklers in their new residential builds, watch the video at the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=rWnwe26uWtU.

For more information on the residential sprinklers, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia website: https://homefiresprinklers.org.au.