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Fire Sprinklers and Safety

Fire sprinklers have assured that there has never been a loss of life in a building fitted with sprinklers. Very comforting, don’t you think? All Marshview townhomes have a fire sprinkler because code requires it for three story buildings.

In addition to the fire sprinklers inside the Marshview homes, the HOA maintains all exterior fire controls for each building, which are inspected quarterly by a licensed fire sprinkler company.

In the event of a fire

A sprinkler will go off if the temperature created by a fire reaches about 155 degrees. The mercury (the red liquid) will expand and set off the flow of water. Be careful cleaning around the sprinkler heads; if you accidentally break the bulb, the sprinkler will activate.

The sprinkler head will discharge three gallons of water per minute from that sprinkler head to extinguish the fire. (A fire engine hose will deliver 200 gallons per minute.)

Only the sprinkler in the area of the fire will be activated. The rest will not activate unless the fire spreads to their area.

The specific area and lower pressure is designed to protect your valuable furniture and other possessions adjacent to the fire.

If you observe a sprinkler going off, move your family and pets outside and call 911 to alert the fire department. If your property is monitored by a security company, they will automatically call the fire department.

Even if the fire is extinguished, the sprinkler will continue to spray until you turn it off. If you are sure that the fire has been extinguished, turn the water off by turning either of the two valves on the outside of your building off. This can be done by turning the either of the two blue handles 90 degrees to the off position. Or wait till the fire department determines it is safe to do so.

Routine maintenance
By law, the sprinkler system must be inspected and maintained annually by a certified inspector. Your insurance company may request a certificate.

Salt air corrosion or irrigation spray can interfere with the proper functionality of your sprinkler system, creating leaks or short circuits. The two round gauges indicate the pressure of the water supplied to the system and the water pressure in the sprinkler pipes inside your home. They should be roughly the same pressure. If they appear to be low or out synch, call your security company or fire department for advice.

If the fire department needs to supplement the water flow for a stubborn fire, it can connect its hose to the system by coupling to the sprinkler system through a large pipe fitting. Be sure that your shrubs are trimmed to provide access to the hook-up.

The other valve on the small fitting serves to depressurize the system and drain it, in the event repairs or replacements need to be made.


If you hear an alarm go off, call 911

If a sprinkler head is triggered by a fire, the valve will open automatically and the bell on the outside of the building will start ringing.

Occasionally, the salt water air or sulfurous irrigation spray will short out the system, causing the bell to ring. The bell is not necessarily hooked up to a monitoring company.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Don’t assume that there is a malfunction or that help is on the way. Call 911 IMMEDIATELY to report a fire alarm and then check on your neighbors. Unless the system is monitored by a security company, the fire department will not know of the emergency if no one calls them.

There is only one bell per building, so alert all the neighbors in that building.

If you know there are pets inside, be sure to tell the fire department when it arrives.

The bell should shut off when the water is turned off. In the case of a short circuit, it may not stop ringing until it is disabled manually.

For more information on fire safety, visit the St. Johns County Fire Rescue Department (www.co.st-johns.fl.us/BCC/fire_rescue/index.aspx) or the National Fire Protection Association (www.nfpa.org).