A Fireman In Your House 24 Hours A Day: Fire Sprinklers

       Look around on the ceiling of your house. Do you see a sprinkler head? Your residential sprinkler may look similar to the following images. Your residential sprinkler stands ready 24 hours a day to detect and suppress fires before they can become a threat to lives and property. Residential fire sprinklers are designed to react more quickly than their cousins (commercial sprinklers) and thus start fighting fire within seconds of reaching a certain temperature. It's like having a fireman right there in your house! Each sprinkler is designed to operates independently, so only those in the affected area will go off. This why it is necessary to have sprinklers in every room (even the closets). It is the intention of the designers of the sprinkler system to get water onto the fire in any room of your house. This is like having several firemen in your home all at the same time!

Standard Recessed Sprinkler

Standard Sprinkler in Chrome

Standard Sprinkler in White

Just like a fireman, sprinklers need some attention every few years to make sure they are going to work at top performance when they are needed. This is normally done by trained professionals in the commercial industries, but is largely left to the homeowner in single family homes.

Are you the owner of home with sprinklers installed? Have you ever wondered if the system will work when needed? I thought the same thing at my house. So, here are a few things you can do on your own to help you gain some confidence in your "24 hour fireman."

Checking Your Sprinkler System

1. Check to make sure your sprinkler heads have not been painted.
2. Be sure all of your sprinkler heads are unobstructed. Check in your closets to make sure you have not stacked items up to high.
3. Do not ever hang anything from you sprinkler heads!
4. Check the water pressure gauge to be sure you have water pressure.
5. Be sure the shut-off valve is open.

If you have a negative answer to any of these above mentioned visual checks, you need to get this issue handled as soon as possible.

For more information, please feel free to contact your local fire sprinkler contractor for more information.

I will be glad to answer any questions. Please comment to this article with your questions.

ZTD