Your Fire SprinkLer System & Fire Protection Specialists

South African law requires fire sprinklers in:

1. Any building bigger than 2,500m²
2. Any basement lever bigger than 500 m²
3. Any building over 30m tall.
4. Various buildings that present special risks (like theaters etc.)
5. Any building where your insurer requires it.

ASIB is The Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau. It is a private regulatory agency in South Africa that develops rules for the design and installation of sprinkler systems in keeping with the major international codes (FM, NFPA, BS, etc.)

It provides approval services for designs and hydraulic calculations, as well as inspections and certification of the installed systems.

The main reason that you need an ASIB Certificate is because it is increasingly required by the insurance companies. In some cases your insurer may withdraw cover if you do not get one.

Because there are no functioning government oversight bodies for fire sprinklers, the insurance companies have come to rely on The ASIB to ensure that your sprinkler system is fit for purpose.

If you have pumps and tanks, your pumps require an annual service. Tanks only require a visual inspection and maintenance when necessary. Your sprinkler valves (I.C.V’s) require servicing every 3 years.

Only an ASIB approved company can service your equipment. When they do the service, a tag issued by The ASIB will be affixed to the pump/valve to indicate that the service parts were issued by approved companies. The old gaskets will also be attached to demonstrate that they have been changed out.

Other companies often offer services, but they will not be able to obtain the service tags and your system will lose its compliance.

Approved companies are listed on the ASIB website at www.asib.co.za/installers/map

The amount of water discharged by you sprinklers, and the pressure required to get that flow, depends on the exact processes or goods being stored and how they are stored. Once we have designed a system to meet those criteria, we know what is required at the source to meet those requirements.

In some instances the municipal supply is sufficient and we can use it. In many instances it simply is not – that’s when tanks and pumps are needed to deliver the flow/pressure. Often the requirement is three or four times what the municipal line can offer.

It’s also worth noting that in an increasing number of instances a client with an old system that worked well off a municipal supply suddenly gets told he needs pumps. This is because many municipal systems have been neglected and simply no longer deliver the flows and pressures that they once did.

A common misconception (and movies are to blame here) is that all the sprinklers go off at one time. This is simply not true. Each sprinkler will only operate when it reaches a specific temperature for a specific period of time. This means that only the sprinklers above the fire operate.

You can tell what temperature your sprinklers will operate at by the colour of the little glass bulb. Red means 69⁰, yellow means 79⁰, Green means 93⁰ and blue means 141⁰

Not all sprinkler systems are the same. The amount of water discharged, and the pressure required to get that flow, depends on the exact processes or goods being stored and how they are stored.

The spacing of the sprinklers and the size of each pipe are specifically determined by a lengthy set of rules and hydraulic calculations. This means that no two systems are ever exactly the same.

The first goal of every sprinkler designer is to be able to achieve sufficient coverage for your stored goods at roof level only. With new sprinkler heads being developed all the time, this is allowing for higher storage limitations. But there is a limit to how much water can be effectively delivered at roof level only.

When the water discharged at roof level is simply not enough to drench all the way down through the goods being stored in the racks then in-rack sprinklers are required. These are designed to catch the fire while it is still small – before it has a chance to spread to more goods.

Studies have repeatedly shown that in-rack sprinklers not only limit the fire damage by early activation, they also drastically reduce the water damage  by comparison to only roof sprinklers activating.

Because there are no functioning government oversight bodies for fire sprinklers, the insurance companies have come to rely on The ASIB to ensure that your sprinkler system is fit for purpose and properly maintained.

Every insurer will have their own rules, and those will be further refined for each client – so not all policies will require ASIB certification. When the fire liability is great enough, they will insist on an effective sprinkler system with regulatory approval.

Currently The ASIB issue the most up-to-date comprehensive rules for the design and installation of sprinkler systems in South Africa – with the necessary staff to constantly inspect those systems. There are also foreign codes like NFPA and FM, but they also require inspection certificates.

This is a question for your engineer when a premises is being built. The building codes in South Africa have threshold parameters for when a sprinkler system is legally required.

More importantly though is the bigger question of what’s at risk. Remember that hose reels and extinguishers rely on a person seeing the fire early enough, and then knowing how to use the equipment to fight it. This is especially difficult if there is high storage or lots of machinery in the way. Most fires start inside ceilings or equipment like generators and machines which are hard to reach or where the fire is not seen until it is too big.

This is why a sprinkler system is so effective. It’s there when no one else is, it’s immediate, it’s automatic and it delivers massive suppression quickly so the fire doesn’t have time to spread.

SANS fire code applies to all structures, but ask your insurer – their requirement is paramount!

Whilst there are many fire companies out there, many do not have the institutional knowledge or formal systems in place to take responsibility for entire systems. 

Remember that if there is a fire and your sprinkler system fails to operate correctly, there will be huge questions about liability. 

Here are some questions to consider when choosing who to let work on your system: 

1. Is this company accredited by a professional body? Don’t take their word for it, check the ASIB website for ‘Listed Companies’.
   
   
2. Does this company carry liability insurance that would cover millions in damages if there is a leak or a flood from incorrectly installed pipework – or worse yet, a serious fire incident?
    
3. Is there someone on their staff that can carry out design work in line with the regulations and do the required hydraulic calculations to prove the system is balanced and delivers the correct coverage? 
   
   
4. Is this company a sub-contractor to an accredited company, or do they carry the skillset and capacity in-house? 

Remember that even if a fire company only carries out minor work or servicing on your system – they become part of the responsibility chain in the event of an insurance claim!