The fire took place on the 1^st November at around 07:45 when an Acetylene torch manifold failed in a timber processing factory.

The sprinkler system was quickly activated, bringing the fire under control within 15 minutes and leaving just 10% of the workshop damaged. The sprinkler also played a vital role in cooling the gas cylinder that supplied the torch, mitigating the danger of an explosion.

18 fire fighters from Highlands & Islands fire and rescue service attended the scene and continued to cool the cylinder until they were certain the danger was passed.

Ross Nixon of Highlands & Islands Fire and Rescue Service, passed the information on to the National Fire Sprinkler Network, a not for profit group who campaign for better use and development of sprinkler technology.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service were called the store just before 7.15pm on Sunday 25 September. Six appliances and an aerial support attended the scene.

The fire started in the cafe area on the first floor of the 400 sq m building. Fire sprinklers in the shop extinguished the fire and firefighters left the scene soon after 10.30pm.

The fire service said if it was not for the fire sprinkler system damage would have been much worse. It said: “Sprinklers saved the building and others.”

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is working alongside local NHS teams to deliver domestic sprinkler systems to the homes of vulnerable people.

Under the arrangement, a group from NHS Hull, known as the Long Condition Team, refer likely candidates to the fire service.

Community safety staff from the service then deliver home safety visits to high risk groups. As part of the work they do, the group aims to provide information and advice to residents and businesses about staying safe from fire.

According to the service, a vulnerable Hull resident had a sprinkler system fitted at his home after he was referred to firefighters. He lives alone, is a smoker and has shown early signs for dementia, the service said.

Assistant chief fire officer, Daryl Oprey, said: “Currently very few domestic sprinkler systems are installed in the Humberside area. However we need to increase the scale of these installations and the Service is committed to doing so. We will continue to work in partnership with other organisations to identify and install these life saving systems where they are needed the most. This installation is a perfect example of two organisations working together to increase the safety of vulnerable people.”

Funding has been set aside specifically to make the lives of the “high risk” residents safer, which may include the installation of more sprinkler systems.

US Experience with Sprinklers, published in May 2011, includes statistics on how often sprinklers are reported in fires by property use, and their estimated impact in reducing the average loss of life and property per fire.

The report also includes statistics on performance, usage and reliability of sprinklers, as well as reasons when system fail to operate, or operate but are ineffective.

Of reported structure fires in 2005-2009, an estimated 9% showed sprinklers present, with 57% of fires in health care properties reporting sprinklers present. Manufacturing facilities, hotels and motels, prisons, dormitory and barrack accommodation had sprinklers reported in around half of reported fires.

Sprinkler installation is still comparatively uncommon in educational properties (34% of fires), stores and offices (23%), public assembly properties (21%), and homes (6%), where most fire deaths occur.

Sprinklers operated effectively in 87% of all reported fires where they were present in the fire area and the fire was large enough to activate them.

According to the 2009 American Housing Survey, 4.6% of occupied homes (including multi-unit homes) had sprinklers, up from 3.9% in 2007, and 18.5% of occupied homes built in the previous four years had sprinklers.

Download the US Experience with Sprinklers

The newly created project committee – CEN/CLC TC4: Services for fire safety and security systems – will work on the competence and quality of services for the planning and design, engineering, installation, maintenance and repair of fire safety and security systems.

Consultant and hotel fire safety campaigner, Alan Cox, has been appointed to sit on the committee as the representative of the European consumer group, ANEC.

According to CEN the benefits of such a standard would be the provision of an equal level field for competition of service providers at European level, and an increased openness and accountability for customers.

The additional guidance, published by the National Association for Safety and Health in Care Services (NASHiCS) and the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA), is designed to deal with issues including:

• evacuation of a protected zone in 2.5 minutes
• rooms of residents unable to evacuate – upgrading to 60 minutes fire resistance
• staff remaining with residents who are unable to evacuate
• the use of external fire escapes by residents
• the travel distance of evacuation routes
• the use of by-pass routes.

The additional guidance has been published to provide operators with a better understanding of the existing CLG guide and how it helps to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The new guidance has been devised with the underlying principles that the safety of occupants is paramount; that staff training on the awareness and reduction of fire safety risk and evacuation techniques is vital; that risk should be reduced as low as reasonably practicable, as required by law; that there should be sufficient levels of staff to effect the fire safety strategy for a premises; and that the fire safety strategy should always take into account the ability of the building to withstand the spread of fire and smoke travel.

“It was felt that certain parts of the CLG guide required further clarification to allow residential care operators to fully understand their role within the [Fire Safety Order],” said David Hulton, lead member of the NASHiCS fire safety working group. “NASHiCS are very pleased that this guidance document is now being launched as it will provide valuable additional information for residential care premise operators.”

Chair of the CFOA enforcement group, Nick Coombe, added: “It has taken a long time and a lot of hard work from a number of people to get us this far. All at CFOA are delighted that the document is now complete.”

The Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure will apply to residences including dwelling houses, flats, residential care homes, educational residential accommodation and houses in multiple occupation.

In November last year, the general principles of the bill received unanimous approval by assembly members, and last month it went through detailed consideration in its committee stages.

Ann Jones, assembly member for the Vale of Clwyd who introduced the measure, told BBC News:

“After three years of campaigning and scrutiny we have seen a compelling moral and technical case for this life-saving device which has been working for decades in, amongst other places, cities in the USA and Canada.

“With sprinklers fitted, new homes in Wales will be amongst the safest in the world and that will go for new care homes and university accommodation too.

“Over 100 people have died in house fires in Wales since 2004 and we now know that sprinklers could have saved many of these lives.”

According to a memorandum accompanying the measure, a failure to meet the duty of providing an automatic fire suppression system will be treated as equivalent to a breach of building regulations and subject to similar enforcement action.

The measure will go before the Privy Council on 7 April for formal approval.