On Sep 18, 10:00*am, Eric in North TX wrote:
On Sep 18, 7:04*am, "HeyBub" wrote:

"State and local officials are now wrestling over whether to adopt building
codes that would require sprinklers in every new home and townhome starting
in 2011 amid intense lobbying from both sides."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/...ome_sprinklers

I've always been a fan of that plan. I see it as the best solution,
eliminating the response time from the fire department. The downside
would be the water damage from a relatively easy to control fire, but
likely worth the risk. They should be zoned though, no point in
washing down the TV in the living room to control a little fire in the
kitchen. Easy to turn off would be another good feature, auto off
after flames subside for 10 minutes or so. even better, so long as it
had the ability to turn back on if the embers came back to life. Cost
would probably eliminate those desirable features though.

Automatic Fire Sprinklers are always zoned. Except in some rather
exotic systems, that protect risks containing flash fire or flammable
liquid hazards, fire sprinkler heads; which is what the individual
discharge nozzles are called; do not open until the temperature at the
individual head reaches a set level and remains there long enough to
melt the woods metal, or rupture the glass bulb, that hold it closed.
In other words ordinary fire sprinkler heads open one at a time in
response to the temperature at the head. They can be combined with a
heat detector system that will shut off the water when the temperature
has dropped to a safe level but such additional controls add markedly
to the cost. There are even sprinkler heads that shut themselves when
the temperature drops but there cost is quite high compared to the
much simpler open and replace type. All fire sprinkler systems are
easy to shut off but premature shut down is the primary cause of large
losses in sprinklered premises. Many large cities have local laws or
ordinances that forbid the closing of sprinkler valves prior to the
fire department's permission.

--
Tom Horne