The Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Dany Cotton told the London Assembly that “as a measure as part of a range of options in making buildings safe fire sprinklers are key going forward.” Sprinklers are a reliable and cost-effective fire safety measure that can greatly reduce risk of death, injury, property damage and harm to local communities. 

However, it is important to be pragmatic and accept that given the magnitude of the task it is not feasible to make sprinklers immediately mandatory in all buildings in England. Retrofitting sprinklers in buildings over 30 metres high– 10 storeys – in London alone could cost up to £500 million.

As such, we the London Assembly Planning Committee are calling for a risk-based, phased, ‘road map’ towards making sprinklers mandatory in all homes in England. They call for the Government to require sprinklers to be retrofitted in every existing tall building, care home and sheltered housing block during refurbishment work. 

The...

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Whether an architect trying to design a trendier residential layout or homeowner looking to refurbish their residence with a fresher look, modern layouts are constantly at odds with the country’s safety regulations. More and more frequently, homeowners want to adjust their property to reflect an ‘open plan’ layout. This simple yet effective architectural trend is derived from an old Japanese tradition which merges rooms (i.e. living/dining room, kitchen/dining room, or entry hall/living room) to let in more natural light and give the appearance of a much larger space.

The difficulty associated with open plan design is that it carries with it two central conflicting ideas: a space that is modern and valuable: we’ve seen gigantic kitchen-diners, futuristic staircases and amazing mezzanine loft spaces in high-end Hollywood homes. But also, an insecurity that open plan may not work for the majority of standard homes and spaces.

Open plan is valuable for three reasons. Firstly, it looks good: impressive open spaces are...

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There are an estimated 365,000 residential fires each year in the United States alone. Of which, approximately 180,000 starts in the kitchen. The average cost is $45,000 leading to an economic cost of at least $7 billion. Multiple residencies such as student housing, retirement homes, shared accommodation and flats with communal kitchens are all high-risk categories and increasing concerns for property owners and insurance companies alike.

Automist, a new smart water mist sprinkler system, has the advantage of being designed to be compatible with the majority of building layouts and ease of retrofit without major disruption. When installed in the course of a major refurbishment project, the advantage is twofold: disruption is minimised, and volume pricing offers exceptional value.

A common concern to all building insurers and insurance holders alike is the requirement to meet standard regulations and fire safety laws. Automist Smartscan is the only product of its kind that has been approved by the...

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When coming up with design solutions for refurbishing older home models with modern aesthetics, architects are often confined to solutions that are limiting in order to meet the national safety requirements set by the LABC. In addition, city officials are often torn when handling older constructions because they need to be brought up to code with modern fire sprinkler systems but the costs are too high. The choice becomes so challenging that more often than not, the problems are ignored or left alone without an attempt to find a solution that would be both practical and economical. Unfortunately, however, this is a huge risk and liability, and the consequences could be horrific.

One of the biggest issues with a traditional sprinkler system is that you’re often required to expand or attach a main with additional piping to get the amount of water required. This is a feat that is both impractical and costly when dealing with older constructions, especially in areas that are more remote and far from natural water sources and city...

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Plumis Automist was used to comply with building regulations and to provide unobtrusive fire protection in the Grade II listed Gatehouse Lodge, near Grantham in the Lincolnshire Vales. The Lodge had been rescued recently from dereliction and has been sensitively restored with a mix of original and contemporary features. The system was installed in the kitchen area to the front of the property because the escape route from the 1st floor came down into this small room, meaning that it was not protected as required in Approved Document B. 

The owners were reluctant to have sprinklers fitted because of the damage to the fabric of the period property and to the new fixtures and fittings the release of water would cause if they were activated. They had looked at the Plumis website and assessed that Automist would perfectly suit their requirements. Newflame Ltd of Peterborough is the Accredited Automist Installer for the region and Richard Scotcher recommended a wall mounted spray-head. 

Automist is a pre-engineered...

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