Case study - fire sprinklers

15.5.07

Senior citizens Jim and Margaret Wallace will be forever thankful they opted to install sprinklers in their Tauranga home.

Jim and Margaret Wallace with their grandson and family pet, Spot (photograph courtesy of Bay of Plenty Times)

"About three years ago, our daughter moved from Auckland to Tauranga and we subdivided our orchard so she could build a home," recalls Jim. "As we have no mains water, the local bylaws stipulated that both houses had to have home sprinklers and 11,000 litres of water for firefighting, or 49,000 litres of water for firefighting."

After considering their options, the Wallaces decided on sprinklers. "We're senior citizens and we thought that it might be nice to know a sprinkler system was there while we were asleep, so we wouldn't roast in our beds," says Jim.

The Wallaces called in Master Plumbers' members Waihi Beach Plumbing and Drainage to retrofit a system in their home and install a new system in their daughter's home as it was being built.

One fateful evening

As things turned out, the Wallaces were to be eternally grateful for their decision. On the night of 12 October 2006, while they'd dropped round to their daughter's place for half an hour, the dishwasher in their kitchen caught on fire.

"We came back to find the house full of smoke, and called the fire brigade," recalls Jim. "The sprinkler had gone off in the adjoining dining room and had kept the fire under control."

When the fire engineer arrived, he knew immediately that the sprinkler system had worked from the water running down the drive. "If the system hadn't been there, the house would have gone," says Jim. "It was a very windy night and the wind would have fanned the flames through the roof or the large windows at the front of the house."

What's more, the couple were planning to go away the next day, and Jim had filled the car with petrol the previous day. "The garage adjoins the house and the keys to the cars were in the house, so I couldn't get them out."

While his first instinct was to go into the garage and switch off the main fuse to prevent further fire risk, Jim remembered just in time that this would kill the sprinkler system too.

Cleaning up

When the sprinkler went off, it soaked through to the particularly absorbent carpet underlay, calling for new carpet throughout.

Meanwhile, the acrid smell of the burnt dishwasher insulation got into the laminated kitchen cabinet fronts, phones and drapes, so all were replaced. And the TV and electrical gear had to go to Auckland for special cleaning.

The inside of the house had to be washed down and repainted throughout, and new wallcoverings were hung in the kitchen and dining room.

The couple moved out while the repair work was being carried out, and say that the insurance process went very smoothly. Though the fire had caused a fair bit of damage, the Wallaces hadn't lost their precious mementoes, and the house was still standing.

"We didn't have to knock it down and start from scratch," says Jim with relief.

Sprinkler saviours

There is no doubt that the fire was a traumatic experience for the Wallaces, but the couple remain positive. "You can't let something like this ruin your life," says Jim. "You just have to go on as before."

And they're very thankful about their decision to install sprinklers. "As the Fire Service pointed out, in the country it can take 20 minutes for the engine to get to you, so the sprinkler keeps the fire under control for that time," says Jim. "They had the pump working for a bit, but probably used less than 100 litres of water to douse the area where it was burning."

Not much when you compare it to the 12,500 litres needed to control a typical house fire without sprinklers.

And cost shouldn't put homeowners off, concludes Jim. "You're adding value to your house that you will recoup," he says. "It's an investment rather than an outlay."