How Fire Sprinklers Work

How Fire Sprinklers Activate

A short movie that shows in detail what happens when home fire sprinklers activate.
Download movie.

Fire Sprinklers are Simple, Reliable and Proven

  • Fire sprinklers are very simple.
  • The sprinkler is just a plug that holds back water in a pipe similar to your other plumbing pipes.
  • Heat from a fire will break a glass tube or melt a solder plug which releases the water.
  • The water comes out as a spray that covers the area immediately around the sprinkler, putting out the fire.
  • Only the one sprinkler closest to the fire opens. All the other sprinklers remain sealed so the water is confined to just the area of the fire.

Home fire sprinklers are technologically very advanced, but the basic way they work is very simple. Fire sprinklers have no moving parts and act simply as a water plug that releases at a particular temperature.

See the difference between a standalone home fire sprinkler system and one that shares the same water distribution as residential plumbing.