Thomas Roche, Secretary of Business Sprinkler Alliance
In October, the government announced its continued commitment to the future of education, unveiling plans to rebuild another 114 schools across the country1. This investment presents an invaluable opportunity to ensure that our school buildings are not just fit for purpose but resilient for decades to come. But with this new wave of investment comes a crucial question: Are we thinking long-term about fire protection in these rebuilds?
The impact of fire on schools is not just about the immediate damage; it’s about the disruption to the educational process. A fire in a school can set back lessons for weeks, if not months. Even a small fire can wreak havoc on a community, displacing hundreds of students and forcing staff to juggle logistics and temporary accommodations for long periods. For many schools, especially those already operating with tight budgets, the costs of fire-related disruption can be overwhelming.
Lessons in sprinklers
On January 8th, crews from Swansea West and Swansea Central Fire and Rescue Service responded to a fire at Sketty Primary School. The fire, which could have caused significant damage, was swiftly contained by the building’s sprinkler system. Within hours, the school was back to normal, with minimal disruption to students or staff.
In contrast, fires at St. Michael’s Primary School in South Gloucestershire and Otley Primary School in Ipswich caused major disruption. The fire at St. Michael’s on December 8th destroyed parts of the school, leaving it ‘literally in pieces”, while the fire at Otley one day later spread to the roof, causing weeks of disruption. In both cases, it has been reported to be a struggle to get back on track, with classes being relocated and lesson schedules thrown off course. Otley Primary has had to relocate students to other schools and rely on online learning for many classes.
These very recent fires clearly show how the presence (or absence) of sprinklers can drastically affect the recovery time after a fire. Sketty Primary was back in business the following day, while schools like St. Michael’s and Otley continue to face lingering disruptions.
The threat of fire
Many people will point to statistics to demonstrate trends regarding the reduction or increase in fires. However, what is often overlooked is the small population of schools we have, so the frequency of incidents is high. For secondary schools, the chance of a fire occurring in any given year is approaching 5% which is high – thinking that through the chance of a secondary school having a fire in 10 years on that basis is 40%.
We often refer to a 2020 study by Zurich Municipal which revealed alarming statistics: over the past five years, more than 2,300 fires have occurred in schools across the UK.2 This has resulted in significant educational disruption, with as many as 390,000 teaching hours potentially lost in a single year. The financial impact is also concerning, with the average repair bill for a major fire running at £2.9 million—some substantial fires can rack up costs of up to £20 million.
Many pick up on the point of a major fire. One can get some balance by looking at the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) put in place by Government as an alternative to insurance for Schools. It publishes figures on average size of fire claims over the years that it has been in operation. Many would be surprised to hear that average cost of a fire event within the RPA was £426,365 in the academic year 2022/23 3. Let that sink in — the average cost of fire events that result in a claim within the RPA is over £425,000. Then think that it was above £350,000 in the preceding two academic years and is forecast to be over £300,000 in the academic year 2023/24.
The True Costs
It’s clear that fire protection isn’t just about saving buildings, it’s about protecting our children’s education and our communities. Schools are not only places where children learn, they are community hubs that host events, meetings, and activities that benefit everyone. A fire can disrupt both the school’s operations and also the wider community.
Yet, fewer than one in six newly built schools are being equipped with sprinkler systems. This is a worrying trend, given that the impact from the RPA numbers alone are high and they suggest that schools are more likely to be struck by fire than most other types of buildings.
While many schools are built at low cost, often without truly considering long-term resilience, this short-sightedness comes with high costs when disaster strikes. When schools are built without sprinklers or other resilience measures, we are essentially gambling on their survival. If we invested appropriately in fire protection from the outset, including sprinklers, we could avoid these disastrous disruptions or at least minimise their impact.
A Question of Priorities
The questions we need to ask are this: Are we investing properly in the long-term resilience of our children’s schools, or are we just building as cost-effectively as possible and hoping they will survive the next 30 years without incident? More importantly is this just a financial question or is it about the impact on those in education when a fire occurs?
The recent statistics should serve as a wake-up call. With more fires occurring in schools and the cost of damage increasing, it’s time to prioritise fire protection as part of any rebuilding or new construction project. The installation of sprinklers could potentially curtail fire outbreaks and significantly reduce the resultant damage, leading to minimal disruption to education. The cost of sprinklers would be a small fraction of the cost and impact wrought by a fire and therefore represent strong value for money over the life of the school properties.
By including sprinklers in the rebuild of our schools, we are not only safeguarding buildings, we are safeguarding education, the heart of our communities, and the future of our children.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme/school-rebuilding-programme#confirmed-projects
- https://www.zurich.co.uk/media-centre/more-than-1100-classrooms-gutted-by-school-blazes
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/risk-protection-arrangement-rpa-summary-provisioning-analysis
About the Author
Business Sprinkler Alliance
The BSA (Business Sprinkler Alliance) is an organisation that aims to enhance protection against fire through the increased acceptance and use of fire sprinklers in business premises.
Founded in 2010, the BSA aims to drive a culture change so that sprinklers are better understood and accepted as the norm for UK business buildings by raising awareness of the benefits that they can bring to businesses, people, communities and the environment. The BSA membership is made up of experts who represent organisations and trade associations that have an interest in fire sprinklers and fire protection.
