Authorities: No Shafer sprinkler malfunction
When a fire broke out in a trash compactor behind Shafer Court Dining Center Sunday, only one of the 12 sprinklers activated, and it deployed 45 minutes after the fire alarm went off. Both the Richmond Fire Department and VCU contend that the sprinkler system worked correctly, and neither is conducting investigations into what caused the fire or the operation of the sprinklers.
When a fire broke out in a trash compactor behind Shafer Court Dining Center Sunday, only one of the 12 sprinklers activated, and it deployed 45 minutes after the fire alarm went off. Both the Richmond Fire Department and VCU contend that the sprinkler system worked correctly, and neither is conducting investigations into what caused the fire or the operation of the sprinklers.
“The sprinklers worked exactly as they should be activated,” said Pamela Lepley, the director of VCU Communications and Public Relations. “This was not a heat intensive fire. In fact, it was more smoldering than flames, and so it only affected one sprinkler because there wasn’t enough heat to cause other sprinklers to go off.”
Ken Farmer, a branch chief for the National Fire Academy, said sprinklers are designed to contain a fire instead of eliminate it, and that sprinklers are usually set to go off individually, and not as part of a set. Farmer and others at the National Fire Academy refer to this misperception as the “Hollywood Effect” because of its common attribution to movies.
“Movies and TV have not done us justice in regards to sprinklers,” said David Creasy, the fire marshal for the City of Richmond.
According to Creasy, sprinklers usually have a heat-activated fusible link that melts out when a fire reaches a certain temperature. When the link melts, it releases a cap in the head of a sprinkler, allowing water to flow. Damage is kept to a minimum because only the activated heads go off.
Creasy said in his experience it’s uncommon for all sprinklers in a system to deploy.
“It’s possible, but it’s rare,” he said.
Lepley said the university is “pretty sure” hot coals from a grill station caused the fire. The coals were not cool enough yet, and the container they were put into had a combustible top. The university has since changed the lid of the container to one that is not combustible, and Lepley said the dining court staff will now make sure the coals are cool enough before dumping them.
