Assessing the Reliance of Sprinklers for Active Protection of Structures

Abstract

Fire protection in buildings is required to achieve the overall objectives of providing protection to occupants for safe egress, safeguard fire fighting personnel during their intervention activities and to prevent the spread of fire to other property. The form of fire protection in buildings is classified into active and passive types. For structures, conventional codes require passive protection to be provided. Active protection afforded by sprinklers is required in buildings with a higher fire hazard category, such as high rises and industrial occupancies, but they are not considered to replace passive protection. However, many codes allow some relaxation of the passive protection when sprinklers are installed. The ability of sprinklers to control the development of fire has been well demonstrated statistically and in many fire tests. However, unlike passive fire protection, active systems such as sprinklers are mechanisms requiring a certain degree of motion and response in order to work. Hence the reliability of active systems to perform when required is perceived to be lower than passive protection. Using a risk assessment approach, this paper explores the means by which sprinklers may be relied upon in providing protection to structures in order to achieve the desired objectives for fire safety in buildings.