Issued: 21 December 2007
Council Calls for Government Action on Domestic Sprinklers
Angus Council is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure domestic sprinkler systems become commonplace in new social housing.
Neighbourhood Services convener Jim Millar said Angus Council had undertaken to fit domestic sprinklers in new build social housing in the county from 2009.
"Fire and Rescue services throughout Scotland have been encouraging councils to take this step for some years now.
"We are now calling on the Scottish Government to follow Angus Council's lead and encourage the fitting of domestic sprinkler systems throughout Scotland in both public and private housing developments."
It is now widely believed that only the fitting of domestic sprinklers will impact significantly on the death toll caused by fire. Investigations carried out by Angus Council in association with Tayside Fire and Rescue Service have shown that while a range of measures over the years have reduced the number of causalities only domestic sprinklers can bring the improvement needed for the longer term.
A controlled demonstration on a council property recently gave a vivid demonstration of the impact of fire on a family home. The demonstration by the fire service showed that a family in the sprinkler protected area would have survived but a family in the unprotected area would have perished before firefighters could have saved them.
Councillor Millar said "Domestic fires take lives, destroy families and destroy properties. The recent staged fire amply illustrated the destruction that can be wreaked in just a few short moments. Even the best equipped fire fighters on the scene within minutes, can still be too late to save a life in a house fire.
"Community safety can be improved through the use of residential sprinklers and the council can influence this provision in new social housing but has limited ability to influence and enforce provision in the private sector.
"Legislation can bring the change required, as has been shown in North America where there has been significant reduction in casualties from domestic fires as building codes enforce the use of domestic sprinkler systems.
"We are therefore calling on the Scottish Government to recognise this is a national issue and we are formally requesting that ministers put the necessary measures in place to ensure that domestic sprinklers become commonplace in new housing."