On Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:44:58 +0100, GB wrote:

On 04/10/2020 12:58, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sun, 4 Oct 2020 12:34:51 +0100, nightjar wrote:

On 04/10/2020 12:15, JohnP wrote:
A school has just gone up in flames in my area. Usual photos of it
burning inside whilst water is put on the outside. Usual cries for
sprinklers - but these can be vandalised and could cause problems.

I know about dry risers - usually to Landing Hose Unions - but what
about a simple array of pipes in the roof space with open nozzles. In
the event of a fire then the Fire Engine hooks up and dowses the fire
from the inside using the fixed nozzles - no need to enter the
building. Notre Dame would have possibly been saved if such a simple
system was in place.

Any thoughts? It seems a compromise to a full sprinkler system but
has the advantage of not being automatic and able to flood the
building.


Unlike a sprinkler system, which releases water only in the vicinity
of the fire, that would release water throughout the building. Fine if
the whole building is on fire, but it could result in unnecessary
water damage if the fire were only localised.

There are dry sprinkler systems. They contain compressed air or
nitrogen, but they still need a detector head to activate. That
releases the gas which, in turn, activates a valve that allows water
to enter the system.

IIRC large electrical installations such as large switch rooms in
basements etc have CO2 cylinders installed and ready to be discharged
in case of fire, thereby depriving the fire of oxygen but not
electrocuting anyone by throwing water around. But there's the danger
of suffocation if the system goes off and there's someone trapped
nearby.


I had an MRI scan recently, and the room had a very, very heavy steel
door that appeared air tight. I assume that was to protect the rest of
the building if the helium boiled?

I don't think there is anything worse than squeaky voices, especially with
weather forecasters.