Sprinkler saved lives in hostel fire, Brighton
A sprinkler helped save lives when fire broke out at a Brighton hostel this week. East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service crews from Preston Circus and Roedean were called at 7.50pm on Tuesday night to the hostel in Grand Parade.
On arrival, they found a small fire in a bedroom at the property which was being controlled by a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head had activated when the fire started.
Firefighters used two breathing apparatus and one hose reel jet to extinguish the few remaining flames.
The automatic operation of the sprinkler system meant that the fire had already been brought under control at a very early stage so the resulting damage was kept to a minimum.
Head of Business Safety for ESFRS Richard Fowler said “Installing fire sprinkler systems delivers benefits to property owners that far exceed the cost of installation and maintenance. “In this case the property was retrofitted with a sprinkler system, without it, the damage could have been considerably worse.
“The automatic operation of the sprinkler controlled the fire at its origin and allowed our crews to extinguish the fire very rapidly meaning that only one room will be out of action pending redecoration.
“The sprinkler company were called to the scene to replace the head that had actuated and the system was operational again that same evening.
“We would like sprinklers to become a more commonplace safety feature in both homes and businesses.
“Sprinklers do a lot more than people realise. They safeguard not only business and homes but more importantly, they also save lives.”
