Fire service and local businesses highlight benefits of sprinklers

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) partnered with a number of local businesses in the city-region to highlight the benefits of fire sprinklers in commercial properties.

The local fire service showcased digital content featuring its staff and representatives of local businesses to mark national Sprinkler Week, which ran from 17th to 23rd May.

In a series of videos, waste manager Biffa, who have a depot in Irlam, and Love 2 Sleep in Salford have shared their experiences and knowledge to encourage others to consider having sprinklers installed.

Just days after footage for one of the new films was captured, a fire broke out involving Biffa’s waste transfer site in Gilchrist Road, Irlam. Fire sprinklers fitted at the site activated, quickly putting the fire out and minimising the damage caused as a result of the incident.

GMFRS’ Head of Protection, Area Manager Paul Fearnhead, said:

Thanks to the fire sprinklers in place at the Biffa site in Irlam, firefighters dealt with the incident in under three hours – which is significantly less time than what tends to be spent dealing with a waste site fire with no sprinklers in place, which in recent years have been known to go on for days, or even weeks.”

Kris Egerton, Operations Supervisor at Biffa, said:

We are grateful that the timely action of the sprinkler system helped stop the spread of the fire that broke out at our site in Gilchrist Road and enabled firefighters to bring it under control quickly. As a result, we were able to minimise damage and resume operations swiftly. The sprinkler system adds an extra layer of protection, reducing the risk of injury and ensuring our people and the public are safe.”

Fire sprinklers are widely recognised as the single most effective method for fighting the spread of fires in their early stages – with research by the NFCC and the National Fire Sprinkler Network (NFSN) finding that sprinkler systems extinguish or contain the fire 99 per cent of the time where they are fitted and operate.

Sprinklers are also proven to reduce injuries by 80 per cent, reduce damage to property, and also reduce damage caused to the environment. You can find out more about sprinklers on the GMFRS website.