WrightwoodCalif.com Forum
Public Forums => Home - Garden - Auto - Carpooling => Topic started by: Wrightwood on Mar 29, 05, 07:48:47 AM
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One of our forum members wanted me to post this warning about defective fire sprinkler heads in Wrightwood homes.
Here's the message:
We design and install fire sprinkler systems.
We just did a head change out in a house here in WW. The heads were Tyco/Central heads and were recalled some years back. The reason for this message is that when I examined the heads that I pulled out I noticed that there is a good chance that these specific heads were defective.
I wanted to post something regarding this issue but thought that it might be a conflict of interest. It might be construed as a solitation for work. Whereas I would probably get some work out of it (by the way I dont need the work I am too busy as it is) I have a genuine concern that others have these heads in their houses and in the event of a fire the may not activate.
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It would be helpful to know how a layman would identify these particular heads.
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or layperson.
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We had fire sprinklers in our home in Pinon Hills. We received a recall notice and the company paid to replace the bad heads. That was several years ago.
I don't know how you would find out if you weren't the original purchaser of the sprinklers. (My husband installed them himself). Maybe you can see what brand yours are, and then go online and search for recalls. Just a thought.
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For anyone concerned about having defective sprinkler heads in their home try this website. Also you can send me a PM if you would like.
http://www.sprinklerreplacement.com/VRP/enterVRP.php3
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Typically how much does that test cost?
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Typically how much does that test cost?
I am no longer certified to test...but when I was it was 3 or 4 years ago it was around $75.00 - $100.00.
Wahoo......my 250th post. Now I am somebody. 8)
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Gosh I don't remember paying that much. I would have said around $35. I guess I just don't always remember accurately. At our previous house we received reminders every year to have our house tested. We moved a little over 2 years ago and haven't received anything on this house, which also has sprinklers. I wonder why. Sprinklers recently saved our previous house when a fire broke out and the new owners were out of town. Lots of water damage, but the house was saved.
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Gosh I don't remember paying that much. I would have said around $35. I guess I just don't always remember accurately. At our previous house we received reminders every year to have our house tested. We moved a little over 2 years ago and haven't received anything on this house, which also has sprinklers. I wonder why. Sprinklers recently saved our previous house when a fire broke out and the new owners were out of town. Lots of water damage, but the house was saved.
Prices are probably different up here in WW.
By the way.....karma for the fire sprinkler plug. :2thumbsup:
FIRE SPRINKLERS SAVE LIVES.
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I remember my old house in Hunter's Ridge/Fontana had those springlers and they had to be replaced. I remember the brand name...
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Oh... I want to be a bear! I hate being a Scrub Jay, or whatever I am! And thanks for the info.
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I have been getting calls regarding peoples fire sprinkler systems freezing. They freeze, the fittings crack , then thaw and leak. The leaks can and will cause major damage to the home and its contents.
The reason why these systems are freezing is because the owners are not keeping up on the maintenance.
The systems in WW and the surrounding areas are protected from freezing using a food based additive called glycerin. If the glycerin is not tested in tends to lose its freeze protection qualities.
Each year the systems backflow preventer is required to be tested and certified. This is a good time to check the freeze protection in the system.
Have your sprinkler system tested!
Remember...Fire Sprinklers save lives
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There have been so many calls about fire sprinkler systems on the scanner the last few days. Lots of them were restaurants, hotels, etc.
Just a gig I assume you do this for a living by your signature... If you do it sounds like you will be busy for a while :laugh:
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My fire sprinkler pipe blew up during the cold weather. Does anyone have names and phone numbers of company's that are certified to fix fire sprinkler pipes?
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My lady just called and advised me the fire sprinklers in her home let go due to a ruptured pipe in the center portion of the structure. The damage took place between level two and three when a plastic pipe that is about ten years old fractured. Freeze doesn't appear to be the issue, the home has been heated throughout the winter. The repair is going to be massive and require removing drywall ceilings, drywall, insulation, flooring, you name it. The system was installed by a licensed contractor in 1996 and signed off by the fire marshal.
This is the third incident of this nature I have heard of in the last two weeks. The new county courthouse was damaged by a similar break according to the Victorville paper.
Question: Are the new systems equipped with fail safe devices? Did they abandon the use of plastic water pipes like they did in the modular home business? Retrofitting a new system is going to require complete demolition of all ceiling and wall surfaces. I know we have some sprinkler fitters in the forum group so I would appreciate hearing from them.
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Pacific West Fire Protection...760-249-1220
My fire sprinkler pipe blew up during the cold weather. Does anyone have names and phone numbers of company's that are certified to fix fire sprinkler pipes?
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The water company can help with that. They are the ones who let us know that we have to maintain our fire sprinklers and have them checked every two years.
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I have been getting calls regarding peoples fire sprinkler systems freezing. They freeze, the fittings crack , then thaw and leak. The leaks can and will cause major damage to the home and its contents.
The reason why these systems are freezing is because the owners are not keeping up on the maintenance.
The systems in WW and the surrounding areas are protected from freezing using a food based additive called glycerin. If the glycerin is not tested in tends to lose its freeze protection qualities.
Each year the systems backflow preventer is required to be tested and certified. This is a good time to check the freeze protection in the system.
Have your sprinkler system tested!
Remember...Fire Sprinklers save lives
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If I decide to not charge my system are there any ramifications besides not being able to have the protection of a fire sprinkler system?
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That's like having a smoke detector without batteries.
If the house was built and required to have sprinklers I would think that an insurance company would have issues if the house burned down and the sprinkler system was not active.
If you have a sprinkler system it should be used and regularly tested.
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It's a required life safety system and needs to be active at all times.
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My fire sprinkler pipe blew up during the cold weather. Does anyone have names and phone numbers of company's that are certified to fix fire sprinkler pipes?
Fire Chief 909.381.8049
They are out of San Bernardino. We had them come up to look at relocating one of our sprinkler lines during our construction project. We decided not to move the line do to the expense.
The company was recommended to me by Stu Thompson who used to do fire sprinkler inspection/tests up here in WW.
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Here is an update of our ordeal.
If you know of anyone who had damage because of the freezing weather during that cold weekend and they are making a claim with their insurance company make sure they have the insurance company classifies it as a catastrophe. That particular weekend was classified as a catastrophe. By classifying it this way the insurance company will never count that as a claim against you when you go to renew or change to another insurance company.
The insurance company suggested that we go with a company that does the whole process from tearing out the damaged property, drying out the whole area, spraying anti-mold chemicals in the wall, to repairing, painting, and cleaning the carpet. The only part they could not do was repair the broken fire sprinkler pipe. We called every fire sprinkler company around and they were either way too busy to get out here or would not accept any new business. We finally got ahold of the company that originally installed it and they were able to come up within a week to make the repair.
The whole process took about three weeks because of the spike in repairs needed in the southland.
We decided not to recharge the system. It seem that this is a common problem even when you service the system once a year. Our life style is closer to the safe side than most people that do have fires that burn down their homes. It appears that the majority of people that have fires in their homes are people that overload their electrical systems, burn candles, have space heaters, store flammable liquids, and smoke, none of which apply to us which in-turn significantly reduces the chance of us ever having a fire in our home.
We are so blessed that our damage was only isolated to the garage and we had an alert neighbor which saw the water running down the street and was able to stop it before it became worse than it was.
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We decided not to recharge the system.
The fact that you have decided to risk the lives of you and anyone else that gets caught in a fire in your home is your choice.
I have my own opinion but it is exactly that....just my opinion.
It seem that this is a common problem even when you service the system once a year.
This statement is false. If this were true then more people in WW would have had their systems freeze and break. Just because someone has their DCA ( Double Check Assembly ) certified once a year does not mean that their fire sprinkler system is in proper working condition. The DCA has one use, its to keep whatever is in the system from getting out of the system and into the public water system. If there is only water in the fire sprinkler system or the glycerin that is added to the system has lost its freeze protection qualities then the system is more than likely going to freeze and break.
The fire sprinkler system, its components and its contents need to be inspected in addition to checking the DCA.
I am curious to know if you have had your fire sprinkler system inspected to see if it was in proper working condition prior to this event? I ask because if you had had your system inspected yearly you probably would not have had a problem with your system freezing. If you did have your system checked then you need to contact the company that did the inspection and ask a few well worded questions.
I am truly sorry that you and yours had to go through this but my concern for you and the safety of others prompted me to write this.
I would hate to think that because of misinformation someone will shut their system off and "god forbid" have a fire.
Please keep in mind that no one has ever died from fire related injuries in a home that had a fire sprinkler system activate and work properly.
If anyone has questions regarding their fire sprinkler system please feel free to contact me.
Nick Giglio, President/CEO
Pacific West Fire Protection, Inc
PO Box 615
Wrightwood, CA 92397
760-249-1220
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i've got a couple questions regarding residential fire sprinkler systems.
What year did San Bernardino county require them to be installed on new builds? I have looked on their webaite but no joy so far.
Are older houses (built in 1978) required to have this sprinkler system?
If I were to purchase said older 1978 house would I have to retrofit it with a residential fire sprinkler system?
Are we supposed to receive any notice to have our residential fire sprinkler system tested each year? (Current home has sprinkler system)
Thanks! :2thumbsup:
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California adopts fire sprinkler requirements in new homes
The new code requirement became effective January 1, 2011.
http://nfpa.typepad.com/firesprinklerinitiative/2010/01/california-adopts-fire-sprinkler-requirements-in-new-homes.html (http://nfpa.typepad.com/firesprinklerinitiative/2010/01/california-adopts-fire-sprinkler-requirements-in-new-homes.html)
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So why does my 14 year old home have them? Was it something builders in WW always did?
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back in 05-06 when we were building a house up here on the LA side. The LA requirements were x miles from a fire station and x feet from the closet hydrant or less. (I think it was something like 3 miles and 300 ft). We also had to prove that we had x amount of water pressure in the hydrant. We had to prove our case to LA county to avoid putting in the sprinklers that a regular (B) licensed general contractor can not do unless he has the proper license attachment (C16).
I did get a quote back then for sprinklers for a 2500 sqft 2 story home in wrightwood and it was about $14K, plus the yearly inspect, which really needs to be done by a professional. Here's some history I found of how the codes have stiffened over the years in ca.
http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/codedevelopment/pdf/History%20of%20Residential%20Fire%20Sprinklers%20in%20CA%20.pdf
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FACT: Loss records of Factory Mutual Research show that the probability of a sprinkler discharging accidentally due to a manufacturing defect is only 1 in 16 million sprinklers per year in service.
I know of several people that had extensive water damage due to sprinklers going off for one reason or another. The last one was in Juniper Hills where the kids were throwing a ball around in the house. The time before that it was someone carrying a ladder through the home.
http://www.firesprinkleradvisoryboard.org/mythsandfacts.html (http://www.firesprinkleradvisoryboard.org/mythsandfacts.html)