Accidental Activated Sprinkler System?

4/6/2022 (Permalink)

Most typical business owners don’t spend time thinking about the effects of flooding due to their fire sprinklers being activated. However, it happens, and it’s an issue that could quickly get out of control and cost you tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The obvious solution is prevention, but first you need to know what could cause this to happen.

Four Reasons for Accidental Activation

Contrary to popular belief, the modern sprinkler system is not activated by fire alarms or even smoke caused by burnt food in your breakroom. They actually have to be subjected to extreme heat that either bursts the red liquid bulb or melts the sensor on the device. There are several things that can cause them to accidently activate, here are some reasons this could happen:

• Vandalization of the sprinkler system
• Improper installation of the system
• An accident
• The sprinkler heads being used inappropriately.

Here are some Immediate Steps to take Prevent Loss

The first step to take in an emergency flooding situation is to turn off the water. Multiple people within your organization should be capable of doing this. Once the water is shut off then cleanup can begin. It’s possible that hundreds of gallons of water have been released in a short time, so damage to machinery, walls and floors can happen quickly. The best plan is to contact an experienced and reputable water restoration company like SERVPRO of Wayne County. They’ll be able to quickly and correctly dry each surface and reduce the risk of mold.

What’s the Long Term Approach?

With the initial cleanup underway, the next step is to contact your insurance company and prevent the problem from occurring again. Your employees should be trained to never hang anything from a sprinkler head or even touch it. The ideal placement for sprinkler heads is in a location which is difficult for a person or even a machine to accidentally contact it.

Flooding in your business may seem inconceivable, but there are steps you can take to prevent and minimize your damages. But an experienced restoration company like SERVPRO of Wayne County can get your facility looking “Like it never even happened.”