Should all new schools and present be forced to be fitted with sprinklers? At present it is only a mandatory requirement for new schools to be fitted with them in Scotland and Wales how ever in England and Northern Ireland this is not the case, and Fire chiefs say this must change.
The Government have been slammed for playing with children’s lives. With around 700 school fires a year and The Department for Education said the safety of children was their priority.
Fire Safety within public places such as schools has come under close scrutiny since the GRENFELL TOWER fire where it is believed that sprinklers would have saved life’s that day.
Last year, the DfE in England began a consultation on new draft guidance which said building regulations no longer required “the installation of fire sprinkler suppression systems in school buildings for life safety”.
“Therefore,” it added, “[guidelines] no longer include an expectation that most new school buildings will be fitted with them.”
The DfE says all schools must have a Fire Risk Assessment and new schools undergo an additional safety check while being designed.
However what we don’t want to see is a very large school fire to be the thing that brings about that change..
