SPRINKLERS SAVE HEARTBEAT PROPS

Duncan Stainthorpe of West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue reports that in the early hours of April 25, 2008, a fire started on the unoccupied first floor of a West Yorkshire mill partly used to house extensive props for the Yorkshire TV series, Heartbeat.

The props included irreplaceable items from the 1950s – 1970s.

The blaze is believed to have originated in the floor void between ground and first floor.

The sprinkler system activated and raised the alarm when the fire developed to involve the floor and the ceiling at ground level.

As well as raising the alarm, the sprinklers held the fire in check until firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were able to negotiate a route through the heavily smoke-logged building to the seat of the fire.

The location of this blaze made conditions extremely difficult, and the firefighters attending did a tremendous job in finally bringing about a satisfactory conclusion.

In October 2005, a fierce fire at the warehouse of Aardman Animations the animation company behind the Wallace and Gromit films destroyed "the entire history" of the much-loved film-makers. This building did not have sprinklers fitted, it cost Norwich Union £100,000 to replace Nick Park’s famous ‘Chicken Run’ pie machine, plus another £6,000 to replace two other models lost (source: Firestopsprinklers.com).

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