collection lost in Grampian fire

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

This is the worst possible nightmare for any collector - a shed full of restored vehicles ablaze. I've often wondered if a sprinkler system would do any good. Inside the shed it might help reduce ignition by wetting everything down, but once the shed itself collapsed the plumbing would rupture and the spray would stop, after which the radiant heat would quickly dry everything out again and it would soon ignite. However if you put the spray system outside to protect the shed itself there may be a chance to save the whole thing. I know it's been done with houses, I remember reading about a woman in Marysville who installed an elaborate spray system under the eaves, which formed a water curtain around the whole house. Apparently she was ridiculed by some in the town but when Black Saturday came she used it and her house was completely undamaged while the rest of the town was all but wiped off the map. I'll see if I dig up the story. There are probably experts in this field so it may be worth some research.

Any sprinkler system is better than not having one at all.

Ideally you want a petrol or diesel powered fire pump in a safe location ( don't rely on mains electricity ) and buried poly pipes buried underground feeding off the pump , dig the the poly pipes in about 2 ft deep , around the perimeter of your house/sheds . You then install metal galv. pipe risers from the poly pipe and have metal sprinkler heads on top of the risers ( plastic is useless in fire situations ) . The idea of the spray is to keep the radiant heat off the buildings and also put out embers . Some people even have a remote starting system rigged up to their mobile phone so the pump comes on after it is told to .

Another good idea is to buy some insulation bats and stuff pieces of these into any crevases or openings in your shed/house roof capping and flashing - block up any holes with that stuff