Sprinkler saves £8.7m school in Stevenage

The decision to install fire sprinklers in the toilets of a school serving 1,500 pupils, including 60 children with severe mobility impairments who live on the premises, saved the school from a potentially serious fire.

A toilet roll was set on fire in a toilet at lunchtime on 5 November. The fire activated a single sprinkler head in the ceiling above the cubicle, which suppressed and controlled the fire until the Herts Fire and Rescue Service arrived.

No pupils or members of staff were injured at the incident, at Marriott’s and Lonsdale School.

“The incident caused minimal disruption with the school fully operational one hour after the fire, says the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association.

“The need for sprinkler protection to be extended to lavatories is often questioned and is frequently suggested as a method of cutting the cost of sprinkler protection in schools and public buildings. This incident demonstrates just what a false economy this could be.”