All London school fires this year had no sprinklers fitted

London Fire Brigade has revealed new figures that show that none of the 57 schools in the capital that have had a fire this year had sprinklers fitted.

The Brigade has long been calling for sprinklers to become a mandatory requirement in schools. In particular, it wants sprinklers to be mandatory in all new school builds and for all schools to be retrofitted with sprinklers during major refurbishment.

Sprinklers are especially important during the summer holidays when buildings are empty and fires can smoulder undetected, causing extensive and expensive damage.

Charlie Pugsley, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, said: “It is shocking that we have been campaigning for a number of years to make sprinklers mandatory in new schools and retrofitted during major refurbishments and yet this year, every school fire we have been called to has had no sprinklers fitted.

“Sprinklers are the only fire safety system that detects a fire, suppresses a fire and can raise the alarm. Sprinklers save lives and protect property. Millions of pounds are wasted every year repairing fire damage in London’s schools when sprinklers could have prevented the spread of fire.

“This is not just about saving money; when a school is closed it disrupts a child’s education, impacts on the local community and affects parents by closing breakfast and after school clubs.”

In all school fires attended by the Brigade since 2014, there have only been 13 cases where sprinklers have been fitted.

The London Fire Brigade wants the public to email their MP asking for a change in the law and get this #SprinklersHit sorted.