Fire sprinkler bursts setting off fire alarm system at a school after pipes freeze

[@leafmk]

That's crazy that two schools froze, at least its outside.

[@REWYRED]

Interesting.... If this was a blazing hot day like we get here in Southern Ontario and that head happened to AHEM.. Fail for whatever unknown reason you can bet id want to run under it...

[@Redbird45]

At least it’s outside this time

[@LoyalmoonieProductions]

I'll never understand why anyone would think it's a good idea to put fire sprinklers outside when it's just asking for things like this to happen...I should know because the grocery store I work for learned this the hard way...TWICE in a single year (when there was no fire in the first place).

[@nics-systems-electric]

Because if installed correctly it won't cause any problems and it could save your building from burning down

[@sebastianl2916]

just needs some heat trace and insulation

[@gjones2312]

You don’t understand one thing about fire proofing engineering lmao. That sprinkler was aimed directly at the door protecting it from being blocked by fire. Some fireproofing engineer is so bricked up right now seeing that thing in action doing exactly what it’s designed to do.

[@scwfan08]

Same could be achieved by pointing it towards the door from inside ​@@gjones2312

[@Screamblade_]

@@nics-systems-electric Is this area also prone to bushfires? Was it part of a property protection system?

[@kyle207]

why does the water thawing cause it to burst? is it just because heat makes things expand and since it is rapidly going from cold to warm it just breaks the pipe?

[@nics-systems-electric]

The pipe bursts when the water freezes and expands and once thawed the water turns back to a liquid and can flow

[@CajunReaper95]

When you haven’t pissed in 4 hours! 😂

[@jimmysullivan6054]

Real

[@topher8634]

Another one, huh?

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

This reminds me strongly of a far worse flood that happened on my university campus over winter break. It happened in Seattle, where we don’t always get extremely cold temperatures but we have the occasional cold spell where tons of pipes burst. The cause of that flood was the same, it was a sprinkler pipe near an exterior wall that had frozen, expanded, broke, thawed, and flooded everything. Apparently residents of one of the more pricey sophomore apartments woke up to the fire alarm (I believe it’s a 90s FCI panel and Gentex GX90 mini horns) and those on the first floor found themselves standing in 3 inches or about 10cm of dirty sprinkler water. The staircase where the flood started probably was filled up to knee height, but luckily the fire door stopped some of the water. At first, people thought it was sewage, but it was just rusty brown sprinkler water with pieces of fiberglass insulation floating inside. Now, the common area of that building has been re-opened, after they had to replace furniture, carpet and drywall. I peeked inside and it looks pretty nice in there now, they really upgraded.

[@Avanti390]

Guess those firemen turned into watermen now

[@WNYEAS]

Hey Nic. Do you know where you got those notifier isolator modules?

[@nics-systems-electric]

Wholesalers or eBay

[@FireAlarmGuy-8090]

⁠@@nics-systems-electricif your in the us Amazon has them

[@WNYEAS]

@@FireAlarmGuy-8090 Thanks man.

[@FireAlarmGuy-8090]

@@WNYEAS welcome

[@NS-Sirens]

So many where i am too eh?

[@All_ConsumingBandu]

My highschool recently had that same problem with the sprinklers but I don't think the alarm even when went off because I wasn't there when it happened. I don't think the fire alarm went off but I didn't know it could

[@bradymckinney1712]

I would think that the pipes that are outside are on a dry system. That's how my High School did it anyway. Where my Dad works does it like that as well. They have vents on the top of their roof that have fans in them with duct monitoring. Sprinklers are a dry system until the monitoring detects heat and smoke. Then the sprinklers activate.

[@nics-systems-electric]

This is a dry barrel through wall head doesn't need a dry system when it's inside supposed to be insulated. What you've explained is different than a dry system sounds like a pre-action system.

[@edengarrison5979]

Why is this happening... 💀

[@nics-systems-electric]

Frozen

[@edengarrison5979]

A pipe burst?

[@Comens1997]

OMG IS FLOODING

[@nicolasmartin5426]

I've been watching your videos and not only they are entertaining but I'm also learing alot, tysm for still making all these! It's my routine to watch one of your videos after work haha

[@owensanto4004K]

Damn again lol

[@DBLPLCRBX]

Nic How do you reset a call point?

[@Commissar0617]

need to add water sensors to the dry barrel lol

[@SDPP992]

I had one bust in my apartment 2 months ago

[@CHGOfficial512]

Unlucky. How much damage did it cause?

[@applebottomjeans7145]

another shower

[@josephfrye7342]

now that is alot of damage and it is still leaking and bursting.

[@AYDEN_OFROBLOX]

this happened at his high school

[@stevendutton3958]

2 in one week at least

[@AYDEN_OFROBLOX]

@@stevendutton3958 omg am i right

[@SomeGuyWithInternet]

Nice video! I wonder if there's any more pipes that have yet to go out... The unfortunate thing about sprinklers is that they can be ticking time bombs, and in the places where you'd least expect them. Way back when I was in 6th grade, my middle school (built in the late 2000s) had a pipe burst in their shop. The shop was accessed through a classroom. The water went through the classroom, across the hallway, and into the school gym. It ruined a portion of the gym floor, and the school ended up deciding to replace the entire floor because of it. It happened after a cold snap, but being well inside the building, I'm surprised the temperature got low enough to cause a problem.

[@jonathandixon7693]

You need to invest in a wet and dry shop vac!

[@nics-systems-electric]

I'm not responsible for buying equipment for the school district. they have all types of machines just they can't be everywhere at one time

[@jonahplayscello]

Another one bites the dust

[@gjones2312]

If you’re confused why a sprinkler would be protecting egress then idk what to tell you. Anyways that sprinkler head has to be on the dry system and most likely when their company tested flow last or they had an incident that tripped the dry system they never drained it properly and it froze.

[@nics-systems-electric]

No I'm not surprised it makes sense any area with an overhang of 4 feet or greater at that time required sprinkler coverage. As I said in the video this is a dry through wall head that is on a wet system you wouldn't have a dry barrel head on a dry system.

[@Darkmedal21Roblox]

Wow they just keep happening

[@adventuringwithaiden405]

Can you do a giveaway?

[@Ollieiow08]

Not another one

[@willtheham1]

Wow another one??

[@thomaswhitten468]

Why don’t they use fire sprinkler rated foam insulation?

[@nics-systems-electric]

They will install fibreglass over top of the pipe as it always should've been

[@CGray1234]

This should be a whole series

[@Huey-Gamer]

i just thought that you guys have not tested the Somke exhaust system on Gen at your school

[@nics-systems-electric]

What?

[@canadianemergencylights]

the smoke exhaust with the generator

[@tomewatson]

I learn a lot from your videos. Thanks!

[@ForTheBirbs]

How low were your record low C temperatures?

[@nics-systems-electric]

Not super cold just colder than usual for this area I think between -12°C and -24°C

[@ForTheBirbs]

Cheers! There's only a few areas in Australia that see low temps and see snow so it's mostly large coolrooms and some specialised areas where dry systems are installed. ​@@nics-systems-electric

[@CGray1234]

​@@nics-systems-electric first time i've read a sentence with "not super cold" and "-24°C" in the same sentence

[@floryy_]

Was this the second time you encountered this?

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yes

[@ryancrooks123]

1:05 That Would Be One Nice To Cool Off On Hot Summer Days

[@trainman7215]

Wow! Two in one week! I’d be surprised if a third sprinkler pipe burst.

[@nics-systems-electric]

There was a third but it was domestic water and outside as well as many many many other school districts and buildings

[@unspeakable8.031]

@@nics-systems-electric😮 tell me more!

[@zspacecaptain8228]

Why not put the sprinkler on the inside of the door?

[@nics-systems-electric]

Because water and heat can't go trough a glass and aluminum door and a wall

[@zspacecaptain8228]

@@nics-systems-electric So is the idea to protect from fires that start outside? I can't think of what would cause that, unless you get wildifres there

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@zspacecaptain8228 yes the outside of the building must be protected if it is more than 4 feet of overhung roof during this buildings completion now 2 feet for new installs. Fires on the outside of the building can be caused by many different things and outdoor sprinklers are just as important as indoor ones

[@zspacecaptain8228]

@@nics-systems-electric I see, thanks for that

[@Error-403]

Another one 🙃 Well hey, at least you know what sort of work you'll be dealing with.

[@wibwabz]

you should durability test a sprinkler head

[@Fredengle]

Is there not some legal thing that you need to insure there is not fire before things are shut off ?

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yes you don't shut sprinklers off until you find the activated head

[@Liamblox1223]

Add a comment

[@spykillergames8402]

the pipe didnt freeze nature just decided you didnt test the sprinkler flow switches enough.....so it did a test for you...

[@FORTNITEMANFIREPOLICE]

at least it had bursted outside and not inside when people where in the building and it would flood the school. Welp looks like u guys need to do some repairs of that leak

[@littlebear1218]

every school i have been to has carpet carpet flooring so evey time the sprinkler goes off the entire floor has to be replaced

[@anthonyjones955]

Always have trace heating and lagging on pipes

[@nics-systems-electric]

That is something we use in uninsulated spaces where there is a potential for freezing. However it's not the default go to answer as that requires more complex monitoring testing and supervision. This installation would have been fine if the proper insulation of the space was installed.

[@ej1033-]

You’d never think being too COLD would also set off a fire system.

[@maikotheory18]

The sprinkler system is connected to the fire alarm system. When the sprinkler system detects water flow, it sends a signal to the fire alarm system.

[@grayrabbit2211]

I'd love to know how much property damage has been caused by sprinklers over the years.

[@kurtismckemmie4850]

When I go to see my therapist the entire main hallway to the building is 48°! The rest of the offices are between 55-65. Every time I walk past a sprinkler I just pray that I don't get drenched.

[@UKsystems]

At least you know it works, great video

[@nics-systems-electric]

Thanks. It all gets verified in the summer so it is always in working condition.

[@5.Minute.Major.]

Would not wanna be the sprinkler fitter on call that day 😂

[@mikeross880]

Not again, what a season this is turning out to be. At least in this case it was outside.

[@hotbytesB]

Why is there water brain out what happened?

[@Chrissb1]

Nice vid

[@eliparnes2391]

at least it was outside most of it not inside like your last video

[@TakoElevators]

This happened at my school once. A pipe burst in a 4th floor storage room, and caused water damage to the gyms because they were right below the storage room where the pipe burst at

[@apctech1]

i noticed when you look in the rest room ceiling you see what looks like a hole in the plywood with a square cut out of it and you can see day light through it should be closed up in winter for sure

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yes that is the vent that allowed the pipes to freeze and why the insulation should have been over the pipe

[@apctech1]

@@nics-systems-electric in my area covered with thermostatic heat tapes are required now

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@apctech1 yes we use those too. typically it's much better just to have a dry system but for very small areas heat traces fine it just requires more complexity for monitoring it.

[@FORTNITEMANFIREPOLICE]

what a lucky find. 2 leaks in the same part! 🤣😂

[@a.t.m.stormspotter6695]

Second one in the mater of days

[@keithpierce8458]

that's not good that the pipes froze

[@tritime1236]

Good thing the system is working the way it needs to from when you guys installed it

[@SRN42069]

Man where the schools just not prepared for cold weather in Canada..

[@nics-systems-electric]

It's the coldest we've ever had beating the last record set in 1963 and it was sustained for a week

[@CapStar362]

another one? Yikes

[@IanGSully]

Oh my, here we go again!

[@Boxersteavee]

1:08 a nice little rainbow.

[@adventuringwithaiden405]

Hi

[@Ericlovestrains]

Did they go home early

[@nics-systems-electric]

No

[@Ericlovestrains]

@@nics-systems-electric why

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@Ericlovestrains why would they

[@Ericlovestrains]

@@nics-systems-electric The school

[@ryanjosef]

decent water pressure , is the system rigged with some sort of booster?

[@nics-systems-electric]

No none of our systems have any pumps unless it's a high-rise then potentially. We typically have a minimum of 60 psi anywhere you go around the communities out here often times though pressure is up to 120 I've seen before.

[@samd2660]

Sprinkler systems are normally installed before any pressure control with maybe a non-return valve (you saw it in the valve room, where the sprinklers came off of the main main before being restricted for "domestic" use like taps/toilets/showers/etc) so operate at a lot higher pressure and with a lot more water than you might expect - You've also got to remember that in the worst case it's designed to have multiple sprinklers active and is pushing all that through 2 holes (the head and the broken elbow) so it will be the highest flow available at the time.