Fire protection

Systems and the future

Fire protection

Modernfire suppression system · sprinklers · protección contra incendio (Spanish)

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A set of parts that detect, warn, contain and put out fire, such as detectors, sprinklers, hose cabinets, extinguishers and fire walls and doors.

What it solves

It gives people time to get out and limits fire damage. Planned from the start, it integrates into the ceiling, the walls and the exit routes without looking like a patch.

Today

Define from the schematic design the fire compartments, the exit routes and the visible location of hose cabinets and extinguishers. Coordinate the sprinklers with the ceiling and the lighting.

Common mistake

Adding pipes, cabinets and signs at the end, without coordination, covering windows or routes.

Tomorrow

Connected detectors send alerts to the phone and can guide evacuation with lights. Mass timber and new materials call for designing protection as part of the structure.

Fact Each sprinkler opens only when the heat around it reaches its activation temperature, so only those above the fire go off.

Where it comes from

  • 1Rebuilding after the Great Fire London, United Kingdom, 1666
    A law banned timber on facades, the city was rebuilt in brick and stone with wider streets, and the first fire insurance was born.
  • 2Early invention England, 1723
    The first automatic system that released an extinguishing liquid when it detected fire was created.
  • 3Industrial invention United States, 1881 to 1890
    The automatic sprinkler was patented, and later the glass-disc sprinkler, very similar to the one used today.
Sources

See also

Also in Systems and the future

Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.