Sprinklers in new homes in Wales: what the 2011 Measure means

What the Measure is

The Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 was passed by the National Assembly for Wales to reduce deaths and injuries from fires in the home. It works through the building regulations: it requires automatic fire suppression systems, in practice sprinklers, to be fitted in certain new residential buildings. The detailed requirements sit in the Building Regulations as they apply in Wales and in Approved Document B (Wales).

It remains one of the most distinctive differences between Welsh and English building control. Developers, architects and landlords who work on both sides of the border need to plan for it from the start.

Which buildings it covers

The requirement came in two stages.

• From 2014: new and converted care homes, HMOs, boarding houses, halls of residence and similar residential buildings
• From 1 January 2016: all new houses and flats, including homes created by conversion

It applies to building work, so it covers new homes and buildings being converted into homes or other residential use. It does not generally require sprinklers to be retrofitted into existing homes. Whether a particular project is caught depends on when building regulations approval was applied for and the type of work.

Conversions are where people are most often caught out. Turning a commercial building into flats, or a house into an HMO or several flats, can bring the requirement in, and the building may not have been designed with the water supply or pipe routes in mind. Check early with building control.

Sprinklers do not replace other measures

A sprinkler system is an addition to the rest of the fire safety design, not a substitute for it. New homes in Wales still need smoke alarms, protected escape routes and the other provisions of Approved Document B (Wales). In flats and HMOs, fire doors, compartmentation and a suitable alarm system are still required.

Sprinklers can sometimes support a more flexible design, for example an open-plan layout that would otherwise be difficult to justify. Any such trade-off needs to be set out in the fire strategy and agreed with building control, not assumed.

BS 9251: the residential sprinkler standard

Sprinkler systems in homes and residential buildings are normally designed and installed to BS 9251, the British Standard for fire sprinkler systems in domestic and residential occupancies. Larger and commercial buildings use BS EN 12845 instead.

A residential system is simpler than a commercial one but is still a life-safety system. It uses fast-response sprinkler heads designed to control a fire in the room where it starts, giving occupants time to escape. Only the heads near the fire operate, not the whole system. BS 9251 covers:

• the category of system, based on the type and size of building and its occupants
• where sprinkler heads go and which areas can be left out
• the water supply needed and for how long
• pipework, valves and alarms
• commissioning, documentation and maintenance

Design should be carried out by a competent designer and installation by a competent installer. Third-party certification schemes such as FIRAS, LPCB and BAFE are examples to look for. We can arrange sprinkler design and installation alongside our fire strategy work, so it is managed as part of one project.

Water supply: plan it first

The water supply is often the deciding factor in the design and cost of a residential system. There are broadly two routes:

Direct from the mains

Where the mains pressure and flow are good enough, the system can be fed directly. This keeps it simple and avoids tanks and pumps. The water company must agree the connection, and the available pressure and flow need to be confirmed at the design stage, not assumed.

Tank and pump

Where the mains cannot provide enough flow or pressure, a stored water tank and pump set are used. This needs space, often in a loft, cupboard or plant room, and an electrical supply. In a block of flats the tank and pump may serve the whole building.

Either way, the water supply affects the size of incoming service pipe, where equipment goes and how pipework is routed. Leaving it until second fix is a common and expensive mistake. On larger developments, speak to the water company early.

Maintenance and handover

A sprinkler system only protects people if it is kept working. At handover the owner or occupier should receive commissioning certificates, as-installed drawings and clear instructions, including how to check the system is switched on and what to do if it operates.

Routine maintenance should follow BS 9251 and the installer's recommendations, including periodic inspection and servicing by a competent person.

For landlords, the system should be part of your planned maintenance and fire risk assessment. Tenants and residents should be told not to paint, cover or hang things from sprinkler heads, and not to box them in. In HMOs and blocks of flats, check that heads have not been damaged or obstructed during inspections.

How this differs from England

For developers working in both nations, that means the same house type can need a sprinkler system in Newport but not in Bristol. Standard designs need a Welsh variant.

Sprinklers and the fire strategy

In a Welsh fire strategy, sprinklers are a baseline requirement for new homes, not an optional extra. The strategy should show the system category, the water supply and how the system interacts with the rest of the design, such as detection, escape routes and any other fire engineering.

We write fire strategies for new homes, conversions and residential buildings across Wales and England, and can arrange the sprinkler design alongside the strategy so it is right from the start.