Types of Fire Sprinkler Systems

Wet Pipe Systems

Wet pipe sprinkler systems are the most common types of sprinkler systems. These systems consist of pipes that always have pressurized water running through them. When a wet pipe system is activated by heat, the sprinkler head immediately discharges water to extinguish the fire. Wet pipe systems are ideal for the following types of buildings:

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Retail
• Residential

Dry Pipe Systems

Dry Pipe systems are designed for facilities that are susceptible to freezing. They feature an automatic and closed-type sprinkler head that are connected to pipes that are filled with pressurized air. The compressed air is held in a remote valve, which is known as a dry pipe valve. This takes place in a closed position in order to prevent water from entering the pipe. The ideal environment for a dry fire sprinkler system would be:

• commercial parking garages
• warehouses
• loading docks
• industrial freezers

Quell Systems

Quell systems are designed specifically for cold storage facilities. Quell systems are known for a method known as “surround and drown”, which discharges a large volume of water very quickly in order to completely saturate an area. The system is efficient, effective and still minimizes damage to the property or goods being stored.

Quell systems do not rely on antifreeze, which allows your property to store more types of goods and allows for more flexibility with installations and building codes. All Quell systems come with 10-year manufactures warranty.

In-Rack Systems

If you have a warehouse facility that contains flammable liquids, an in-rack sprinkler system could be right for you. An in-rack systems protects storage racks in areas where a standard sprinkler system could not reach. These systems are installed within the storage rack structure, so that water is released in a specific area, on a specific rack. An in-rack system constantly monitors for heat in order to extinguish a fire in an instant. With a sprinkler system in the storage racks, you can be assured that any fire will be contained to a limited area.

ESFR Systems

Early Suppression, Fast Response (ESFR) systems immediately target the source of the fire’s origin and extinguishes the fire with a large volume of water in a short amount of time. ESFR systems are used primarily in warehouses that use rack storage or high piled storage. ESFR is a good alternative to an in-rack system if you need to be more flexible with arranging your storage racks. Below are a few other unique benefits of an ESFR system:

• ESFR systems traditionally cost 30% to 50% percent less than other comparable system types
• Sprinkler heads detect a fire and quickly extinguish water in half the time of a standard sprinkler head
• The droplet of waters from an ESFR system are released with a greater momentum vs a standard sprinkler head

Pre-Action Systems

Pre-action fire sprinkler systems are essentially a dry pipe fire sprinkler system because the pipes do not hold water on a normal basis. The water is held back by pressurized air until it needs to be extinguished. A pre-action system discharges in a 2-step process:

Step 1 – Smoke or heat is detected by the innovated detection system, which activates the pre-action valve that allows water to flow into the pipes.

Step 2 – Once water is flowing through the pipes, the individual sprinkler heads will release water to extinguish the fire.

A pre-action system provides an additional layer of protection against an inadvertent discharge. This makes a pre-action system ideal for areas like data centers, libraries or art facilities where precious inventory could be destroyed by even the slightest inadvertent discharge.