What about water damage?

Reports of water damage from fires in buildings with a sprinkler system are often exaggerated. Only the sprinkler heads in the area of the fire activate. A sprinkler head operating by accident is almost unheard of. Sprinkler heads cannot be activated by smoke or burning toast!

The Fire & Rescue Service fire hose will deliver considerably more water than four sprinkler heads which have controlled 60% of fires in commercial buildings.

A valuable item sprayed with water from a sprinkler system that extinguishes a fire can usually be recovered or restored. One that is burnt to a cinder and flushed down the drain by a fire hose is another matter, a small price to pay for saving a complete building, its contents or even a life.