Labour AM for the Vale of Clwyd, Ann Jones has marked National Fire Sprinkler Week by highlighting the environmental impact of their rollout.
Mrs Jones said:
“A Typical sprinkler discharges 55 litres of water per minute. A firefighting hose discharges over 600 litres per minute. You can expect a sprinkler to discharge less than 5% of the water used by the fire service.
“Statistics show that widespread use of sprinklers could save up to 96% of the 5.6 billion litres of water used annually in the UK to fight large fires. This is equivalent to three months supply of water for the entire population of a city the size of Leeds.
“Sprinklers also help to protect the environment by controlling a fire in its early stages, preventing airborne and water run-off pollution.
“The environmental impact that sprinklers have are just another reason that suggests that fire sprinklers are worth investing in”.
Under the terms of the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011, a backbench piece of legislation steered through by Mrs Jones, all new and converted domestic properties in Wales will have to have fire sprinklers installed as standard from January 2016.
The policy is widely supported by Chief Fire Officers from across the UK as it will result in fewer fire deaths and minimise some of the enormous danger fire-fighters put themselves in.
