Wise up to Fire is all about getting YOU involved to put pressure on the authorities to take action to protect our schools from fire.

Wise up to Fire is an initiative established by the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association to help galvanise action from all those concerned about fires in schools to urge those responsible to fit sprinklers.

Every year there are over 1,800 fires in schools and other educational premises, of which an estimated 40% are started deliberately. In a frightening trend, daytime acts of arson during the school term are increasing, now accounting for almost one third of all deliberate school fires. This is a real threat to lives.

Sprinklers are proven to be the most effective way to put out fires and allow safe escape from buildings. Shockingly, fewer than 1% of schools make use of sprinkler systems. What can you do.

Wise up to Fire set out to see all new schools fitted with sprinklers, and all local authorities to establish a school sprinkler policy.

The Government’s new policy for the fitting of sprinklers in new schools and those undergoing a major refurbishment goes some way in providing more protection for our schools, but we must continue our call to keep school sprinklers high on the agenda.

We can do this with pressure from those with a real interest in schools and pupil safety – parents and carers, teachers, school governors. What you can do.

Local education authorities, local education partnerships and schools’ trusts of course have schools’ best interests at heart. But no matter how good the facilities of a school or how well it meets its targets, if these are not protected they will be worthless.

Resistance to sprinkler installation has been due to lack or misunderstanding of the facts about sprinklers and their benefits. Wise up to Fire aims to de-bunk the myths and arm those who share our concerns with clear information about how fire sprinklers will save property, resources, data and, potentially, lives.