KFRS works with architects in its sprinkler campaign:

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is challenging architects in the South East to design some of the country’s safest homes by including sprinkler systems.

KFRS is working with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to deliver its “Safer with Sprinklers” campaign which promotes the use of these potentially life-saving devices in the homes of vulnerable people including the young, the elderly or those with disabilities.

Key decision makers including planners, chief executives and council leaders are already showing support for the campaign and now KFRS is aiming to inform and influence other opinion formers including architects and builders.

Steve Griffiths, KFRS’s Assistant Director of Community Safety will address RIBA members from across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Guernsey, at a special seminar on Tuesday 13 May. He said: “Sprinkler systems don’t just warn of a fire, they tackle it. They could be vital in allowing an elderly or infirm person to escape an otherwise fatal blaze in their home.

“The house building industry has an outdated and incorrect image of sprinklers; claiming they go off accidentally, are ugly in design or are expensive to install. We aim to dispel these myths and encourage support of their use by pointing out some of the design freedoms and flexibilities that could be available, such as less fire doors.
“We are urging all building professionals to assess and develop the use of sprinkler systems as a way of achieving safer communities whilst still obtaining greater design freedoms and even funding.”

Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority (which oversees the way KFRS is run) has allocated a Government grant of £255,773 towards promoting sprinkler systems and funding selected projects in Kent and Medway where these devices will be installed in the homes of vulnerable people.

The campaign recently gained national recognition after the Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser Sir Ken Knight, praised KFRS’s sprinkler initiative and highlighted its fire safety work during a recent all-party parliamentary seminar at the House of Commons.

For more information on KMFRA’s sprinkler campaign and the funding available, please contact Chris Colgan, Chairman of the Sprinkler Working Group on (01622) 774500, or visit our website www.kent.fire-uk.org/sprinklers

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