Wise up to Fire - School Sprinkler Campaign

Wise up to Fire in Schools

newspaper cutting

"As we're building more new schools and re-furbishing the existing ones, we must take advantage of this unique opportunity to ensure that sprinklers are fitted, to give our children the best protection."

Phil Toase CBE, BSc, MCGI, FIFireE President,
Chief Fire Officers' Association

Each week, there are over 40 fires in schools.

Wise up to Fire campaign picture

It's estimated that 20 schools a week are damaged or destroyed by arson.

It has been estimated by the Arson Prevention Bureau that in any year, every secondary school in England and Wales has a 1 in 8 chance of suffering a fire.

The direct cost of school fires is more than £80 million. On top of this is the cost of fire and rescue services, the impact of the fire on the environment and the increase in insurance premiums. Additional unforeseen costs include:

Uninsured costs – including policy excesses which may be as high as £500,000
Disruption to school life – especially during the exam season
Loss of teaching resources, books, documentation etc
The additional costs of providing temporary accommodation or transporting children to other schools
The psychological effect on pupils and staff
The impact on other schools where much needed maintenance may have to be delayed because rebuilding costs exceed the insurance settlement
The loss of the school as a community resource and the impact on the groups which depend on its presence

Estimates of the number of fires in schools each year vary, but there's no doubt that the physical cost of the damage caused could build dozens of new schools or employ thousands of new teachers.

Destruction of buildings and property are just part of the devastation caused by fires. Schools are at the heart of all of our communities: think of the heartache resulting from the loss of months of course work; the effects of the loss of student records; interruption of education; additional work for teaching staff; disruption to community projects and initiatives and so on. It’s estimated that these wide-ranging impacts of school fires can be up to 50% of the material costs.

These figures are too high. The costs to all involved are unacceptable.

But something can be done: Wise up to Fire believes that installing fire sprinklers in schools will bring tremendous cost-saving and do-away with the misery and disturbance that fires can cause.

Join us in our Wise up to Fire campaign to have all schools fitted with sprinklers to stop the financial, physical and emotional devastation that school fires cause.

With thanks to Armstrong Priestley, Argus Fire and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for information and photos.