NFU Mutual says cost of farm fire damage is increasing.
The cost of devastation caused by farm fires reached a five year high of £49million in 2019, according to rural insurer NFU Mutual's claims statistics.
Electrical faults accounted for over half the total, followed by arson which rose by 40 per cent to £9million.
Additional analysis from the insurer indicated that 2020 was on track to see an even higher number of incidents and costs.
Statistics
In 2016 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service have attended more than 200 agricultural fires, many of which were started deliberately.
In the 12 months from April 2016, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended 93 farm related fires, 51 of which were stacked or bailed crop.
What you’re required to do by law
The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 is the fire safety legislation that applies to all farm buildings where people work, including packing sheds, milking parlours, barns, holiday lets and farm houses used for providing bed and breakfast.
If you are a business owner, you are required to carry out a risk assessment. If you employ 5 of more people, you are required by law to record the significant findings.
The Water Mist Solution
Water mist systems control fire by reducing heat, displacing oxygen and controlling the fuel source by wetting and cooling the surrounding fuel surfaces.
The key to water mist technology lies in the design of the nozzle along with established pressure criteria to create a mist of small water droplets.
Water mist systems will have droplet sizes where 99% of the volumetric diameter is less than 1mm. Smaller droplets absorb heat at a faster rate than larger droplets due to the higher surface area-to-mass ratio.
A volume of water that consists of smaller droplets has a comparatively larger cumulative surface area than the same volume of water made up of larger droplets – such as those from a standard spray sprinkler. As a result, a rapid absorption of heat and evaporation of the smallest droplets will occur, causing temperatures to decrease while oxygen is displaced
The Cost Benefits of Fitting an Automatic Water Mist Fire Suppression Systems
- Reduced property damage and disruption due to fire damage.
- Installation costs offset by reduction in other areas of fire safety provision.
- Alternative approach for building design to meet the functional requirements
of building regulations
- When a fire activates an Watermist Fire Suppression System, an alert can be automatically relayed to a control centre. The Fire Service response will be more effective and efficient because, unlike automatic smoke detection, water mist fire suppresion systems are not prone to false alarm signals.
- A correctly designed, installed and maintained system will provide years of service. Some systems installed in the early part of the 20th Century are still providing fire protection today!
- In certain circumstances, the use of concealed water mist heads can provide effective, aesthetic and vandal resistant fire protection.
- Water Mist Fire Suppression systems are not prone to accidental operation. A typical head will activate at 68° Celsius, over 30°C above most ambient room temperatures. The chance of activation due to faulty apparatus is 1 in 16 million.
- Each ‘Water Mist’ head is a stand alone, heat sensitive device, and is individually activated by the heat from a fire. THEY DO NOT all go off at once, contrary to that portrayed in the films and TV adverts.
- Water Mist Fire Suppression systems are designed to contain or even extinguish a fire in its
early stages and so dramatically reduce fire damage. - Water Mist Fire Suppression systems can be effectively employed as part of a holistic fire safety strategy in order to enhance life safety, building sustainability and business
continuity. - Water Mist Fire Suppression systems enhance fire-fighter safety by preventing flashover and backdraught situations through early intervention, fire suppression and temperature reduction.
- Because Water Mist Fire Suppression systems are extremely effective in controlling fire size with minimal water, they help to protect the environment by reducing the smoke plume
fallout and contaminated water run off from a fire.
Contact us today for a free Water Mist Fire Suppression quote.
Call us on 01628 902107 or email [email protected]
