Return to Central Omega Index

February 23, 1998


For immediate release

Contact:
Patrick Coughlin, Director
Operation Life Safety
Phone: (913) 268-1311
Fax: (913) 268-5113
email: patcough@sprynet.com

Operation Life Safety (OLS) is alerting fire departments to a Dateline NBC story that will raise questions about the reliability of fire sprinklers. Dateline plans to broadcast the story on either Sunday, March 1, Tuesday, March 3 or Friday, March 6, 1998. The Dateline producer was unable to confirm the exact date.

OLS is informing fire officials of the Dateline report and is including background information for use if contacted by the media. If possible, fire officials should contact their local NBC television stations before the program airs. This will allow the media to prepare the local news with facts about the issue as well as inform their news staff about what the fire department has done (or is doing) to ensure that all sprinklers in their jurisdiction are reliable.

OLS is aware of six fires in the past two years where the sprinkler nearest to the fire failed to operate. No injuries or deaths resulted from the fires. In each case, the sprinkler heads were Omega model heads manufactured by the Central Sprinkler Company. The company has manufactured a variety of Omega models since 1983. Tests conducted by several testing agencies have found some sprinkler systems, where 30-40 percent of the heads needed more than the minimum operating pressure (e.g., 10-15 psi v. 7 psi), to operate after sufficient heat was applied. The tests also found a small number of heads actually required much higher pressures to operate. Those heads may not operate in a fire because the sprinkler system’s pressure may not be great enough.

The possible causes of a failure have been traced to sodium silicates and cutting oil in the water, causing a rubber O-ring in the Omega head to swell, and de-zincification of the brass sprinkler frame that can leave deposits around the opening. These problems have not affected any other models of sprinkler heads.

Omega sprinkler heads represent less than two percent of the total number of sprinkler heads in use (8.5 million out of over 500 million). Further, the number of Omega heads that may not operate in a fire is small. The vast majority of sprinkler systems, therefore, are extremely reliable and will provide the expected high degree of life and property safety.

But fire departments need to ensure that fire protection devices have as close to zero problems as possible and thus should take immediate steps to locate all Omega heads in their jurisdictions. They should require that sample heads be removed and properly tested. If any heads fail the test, the fire department should order that all of the heads be replaced.

Fire departments can identify the models of sprinkler heads from installation plans. If the plans are not available, OLS can supply identification charts to assist with inspecting each system. OLS can also supply fire officials with the test procedure, names of testing agencies and additional background material. Contact the OLS resource center at:

Operation Life Safety
4025 Fair Ridge Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033
(703) 273-9815, Ext. 319 or 320
email: olsmgr@iafc.org



Facts about fire sprinklers:

Fire sprinklers have a superior record. They have been installed in buildings since 1898, and about 30 million sprinkler heads are now installed each year. The National Fire Protection Association reports that there have been no instances of multiple fatalities in buildings protected with sprinklers. Fire sprinklers for residential dwellings have been available since 1980. Jurisdictions that require sprinklers in homes report that there have been zero fire deaths in homes protected with sprinklers.

Sprinklers are activated by heat from a fire. The sprinkler nearest the fire will open and control the fire with a very small amount of water. Compared to fires in buildings without sprinklers, fires in sprinklered buildings cause much less property and water damage (nine to 10 times less).

Fire sprinklers protect firefighters as well as civilians because they quickly control or extinguish the fire before firefighters arrive.

Fire sprinklers conserve water and fire department resources. Fires in sprinklered buildings require one tenth the amount of water and about one half the number of firefighters and apparatus. Because the sprinklers quickly extinguish the fire (or control it to a small size and area), fire attack lines may not be needed. Also, occupants near the fire often do not need to be rescued, and occupants in other areas of the building often do not need to evacuate, further reducing the demand on responding firefighters.




Operation Life Safety is a public/private partnership of the U. S. Fire Administration, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and private industry that advocates the use of residential fire sprinklers and smoke alarms to reduce deaths and injuries in residential fires.