Government snub for sprinklers in schools – despite plans to protect care homes – is putting pupils’ lives at risk, insurer warns
02/02/2023
In a letter to the government, Zurich Municipal warned inconsistent fire safety standards are putting children’s lives and education at risk.
In Summary
- It comes after the government revealed proposals for compulsory sprinklers in care homes but has rejected calls to protect schools
- School fires jumped by more than a third (35%) last year – with 219 buildings damaged
- Fire safety campaigners call for England to be brought into line with Scotland and Wales, where school sprinklers are mandatory
Fire safety campaigners have described government plans to extend sprinklers to care homes but not schools as “illogical”.
In a letter to the government, insurer Zurich Municipal warned of an “inequality” in fire safety standards after ministers announced proposals for compulsory sprinklers in care homes in England, despite rejecting them in schools.
Writing to the schools minister, MP Nick Gibb, Zurich Municipal welcomed the government’s plans to protect cares homes but called for pupils to be given the same protection in schools.
“Schools are a comparable community asset to care homes – if not greater, considering the other roles school buildings play in local community life,” the insurer wrote.
“To protect school pupils and buildings from fire, Governments in Scotland and Wales have already put rules in place to mandate the installation of sprinklers in all new build and majorly refurbished schools. However, in England, these rules are not in place – creating an inequality in safety standards that impacts some of the most vulnerable in society.”
A rise of 35% in a year
Home Office figures reveal 219 primary and secondary schools were damaged by blazes in 2021/22, compared to 162 the year before – an increase of 35%. Six schools suffered damage to the “whole building” or “more than two entire floors”.
Last year, there were 181 fires in care homes. None suffered damage to the whole building or more than two floors.
Zurich Municipal wants to see schools in England brought into line with Scotland and Wales, where sprinklers are legally required in all new and major refurbished schools. As well as putting children’s lives at risk, it says school fires cause severe disruption to education and the lives of the wider community.
While a government consultation on fire safety in schools closed in August 2021, the outcome has yet to be published. The BB100 consultation failed to mandate sprinklers in all new schools, instead outlining non-statutory guidance for sprinklers in new special needs schools and those above 11 metres.
Jonathan Dyson, Lead Officer for Sprinklers at National Fire Chiefs Council, said: “While we are pleased that the government is proposing to require sprinklers in care homes, fires do not discriminate based on the premises type or building height. Both vulnerable residents in care homes and vulnerable children in schools should be given equal consideration and protection in case of fire, with the same level of safety standards no matter the height of the building they are in.”
Tilden Watson, Head of Education at Zurich Municipal, said: “Like care homes, schools are a vital community asset. It is illogical to require sprinklers in one, and not the other. We’re pleased the government has recognised the need for sprinklers in care homes and it should now extend the same protection to children and schools.”
Case for sprinklers in schools 'growing stronger'
Zurich Municipal said the case for sprinklers in schools was growing stronger as more are built from timber to meet carbon reduction targets.
A survey by the insurer of the exteriors of more than 20,000 schools throughout the UK revealed nearly 800 are constructed from wood, attended by more than 280,000 pupils.
Of schools built between 2011 and 2020, 172 have timber facades – the highest figure of any decade.
Watson added: “Sustainable construction should factor in the whole lifecycle of a building, its resistance to damage, including the likelihood that it would survive a fire or flood, and what the impact would be in the event of a total loss.
“Timber frame and modular construction might have a lower carbon impact than some more traditional building methods. But it is also clear that such contemporary construction methods can be less resilient to fire, underlining the urgent need for mandatory sprinkler protection in all new build schools.”
