Suppressing risks

SIMILARLY, THE Association of British Insurers (ABI) also reports that the cost of fire annually has now reached a staggering £1.2bn with the cost of insurance claims increasing dramatically since 2004 by 165%. 

Cuts in educational services can include the reduction of security measure in schools thus leaving them targets for the fire raiser and arsonist. Last year in England and Wales the Police authorities recorded 21,961 Arson cases, again many of these fires were in schools.

In a recent example in July 2018 firefighters from six stations across Yorkshire attended a fire in Sherburn High School; one part of the building subsequently collapsed and caused the remainder of the school to be closed for some time. Following the fire a teenage girl was arrested on suspicion of causing the fire.

Every year in England there are on average more than seven hundred school fires; last year in London alone there were 90 school fires and in the Borough of Brent there have been 29 school fires in the last ten years.

Recently the Commissioner of London Fire Brigade, Dany Cotton has spoken out on the need to install automatic fire sprinklers in all new and refurbished schools in England, at present this is only a recommendation. Unfortunately, it is also a recommendation that is very seldom acted on in England.

By contrast, in Scotland and Wales, it has been a requirement to install automatic fire sprinklers in all new built and refurbished schools since 2010 and 2014 respectively. Interestingly, the decision was taken in Scotland not as a result of any injuries or loss of life but the realisation that the school stock was being depleted on a regular large-scale basis by deliberate fires such is the case in London at present.

Calls for sprinklers

The National Fire Chiefs Council and insurers have also renewed their calls for the installation of automatic fire sprinklers in schools to reduce the needless waste of resources, finance and disruption to our children’s education.

It is fortunate in the UK there have been no fatalities in schools fires for a very long time, however the affect on peoples lives and their education is considerable and initially at least, a fire in a school puts firefighters’ lives at risk as they try to mitigate the damage to the property; large open areas and lack of compartmentation in many existing schools can intensify rapid and extensive fire travel. 

So, why fit automatic fire sprinklers into schools? Firstly, to make the school building portfolio more sustainable; by installing a sprinkler system into a school ensures the building, in terms of fire, will be sustainable throughout its build lifetime. If sprinklers are planned for the building in the initial stages this will also give greater flexibility for the designer of the school.

Sprinklers will prevent the disruption of pupils attending their school’s education. In numerous cases where a school fire has occurred, the building is unusable for many months and sometimes years, there is then a need for temporary accommodation for the school staff and pupils. This can be well outside the area of its normal catchment area requiring transport for pupils to attend.

There is also the loss of precious resources, much of which will have been built up over many years and in some cases irreplaceable together with the teachers and pupils own materials, which may be required for future assessments.

In order to reverse this disturbing and costly trend BAFSA urges HM Government in England and Northern Ireland to include the requirement for fitting automatic fire sprinklers in schools as soon as possible.

The fitting of automatic fire sprinklers by third party accredited installers using accredited components in schools will ensure that fires are controlled or extinguished in their early stages and prevent large scale losses of buildings, educational materials, teaching time and disruption for teachers, pupils and the public. The cost of fitting sprinklers in schools can be very reasonable provided they are planned in the initial stages, this then gives the building automatic fixed fire protection for its full life provided the system is maintained and serviced regularly.

Automatic fire sprinklers save lives both firefighters and the public; they also safeguarding the valuable building stock of the country and allow our children to have an uninterrupted education whilst protecting teachers and pupils from the lasting and damaging psychological effects of a fire. 

Keith MacGillivray MBE, Chief Executive of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA). For more information, visit www.bafsa.org.uk