Sprinklers Save Lives
Fire sprinkler systems are among the most effective fire safety measures available — they control or extinguish fires in their early stages, before they grow to a scale that threatens occupant life safety and destroys the building. New Zealand’s Building Code requires sprinklers in a range of building types, and understanding when sprinklers are required — and what’s involved in designing and installing them — is relevant knowledge for builders working on commercial and multi-unit residential projects.
The Building Code’s requirements for sprinklers are set out in clause C (Protection from Fire), and are based on building use, occupancy, size, and height. Generally: buildings over a certain height require sprinklers; buildings used for sleeping (accommodation, residential) over a certain scale require them; high-hazard occupancies require them; and buildings that cannot provide adequate means of escape without them require them.
Residential Sprinklers
Residential sprinkler systems — lighter-duty systems designed for the hazard level of residential occupancies — have become required in new apartments and multi-unit residential buildings above a certain scale in New Zealand. Residential sprinkler systems (to NZS 4517) use smaller pipe sizes and fittings than commercial systems and are designed to control a residential fire long enough for occupants to escape, rather than to suppress the fire completely.
Installation Requirements
Fire sprinkler design and installation is specialist work. Hydraulic design — calculating pipe sizes, sprinkler spacing, and water supply requirements — requires specialist fire engineering knowledge. Installation must be by trained sprinkler fitters, and the completed system must be tested and certified before occupation. The sprinkler installation needs to be coordinated with the structural and services design — sprinkler pipes run through ceiling spaces and coordinate with other services, and the water supply connection requires coordination with the plumbing design.