Fire Suppression Systems in New York City: The Evolution of Fire Suppression Equipment To Save Lives and Buildings

Purchasing New York City property is expensive. When you have such an investment, it behooves you to care for and protect your buildings, in turn protecting the tenants and staff within.

NYC has a tragic history of devastating building fires that eventually led to the implementation of fire suppression equipment, including sprinklers, extinguishers, and detectors. When was the last time you looked at a fire suppression system in New York City and considered its history? Stop wondering and keep reading.

The History of the Fire Suppression System in New York City

Rise in Immigration and Lack of Fire Escapes

The 1800s saw an increase in European settlers to New York. The people came searching for opportunity and safety from other countries. Unfortunately, the escalation of immigration quickly overpopulated existing properties, becoming fire hazards.

In 1860, a fire broke out in a lower-level bakery at the tenement house of 142 Elm Street. The property was home to 24 families, and 20 people, including women and children, lost their lives because of the inadequacy of rescue equipment — ladder trucks at the time could not extend past the fourth floor.

Following the tenement fire, city and state officials instituted an egress safety law. While this did little to address fire suppression, the law did pave the way for fire escapes and mandatory exits.

Inadequate Water Pressure and the Beginning of the Fire Suppression System in New York City

The rise of immigration in NYC led to an increase in low-wage jobs and appalling labor practices, including the development of sweatshops. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, located on the top floors of the Asch Building in Manhattan, was a prime example of industrial abuse and misconduct.

On March 25, 1911, a rag bin in the factory caught fire. A manager attempted to douse the flames with a hose, but the valve was rusted shut. The fire quickly engulfed the main level of the factory, killing 146 workers.

Violations of safety mandates made the tragedy worse. Of the three elevators in the building, only one worked. Management locked all but one door to keep employees inside. Workers above the flames had access to the roof and escaped to adjoining buildings.

Even worse, water pressure inside buildings did little for the upper floors. As a gravity-fed system, NYC’s water supply was typically unable to make it past the sixth floor with adequate pressure.

After the garment district fire, the government created new regulations requiring sprinkler systems in all commercial and residential apartment complexes. To implement the change, many buildings were retrofitted with rooftop tanks, now iconic in NYC.

Low Water Pressure and the Installation of the Early Fire Suppression System in New York City

Roughly 50 to 60 years after the tenement house fire and a couple of decades after the garment district fire, rooftop water tanks and sprinkler systems became standard additions to construction developments. Any building of six or more stories required a tank to ensure adequate water pressure throughout the property.

To get the water to the tank and into the sprinkler systems, buildings often needed to install booster pumps at ground level. The centrifugal pumps pushed the gravity-fed supply up to the roof. In the tanks, a floatation device signaled when more water was necessary. Depending on a property’s height, it may have required multiple booster pumps.

The initial and rudimentary fire suppression systems in NYC are insufficient for today’s standards. Still, those original iterations paved the way for newer designs and advanced technologies.

Modern Designs and Operations of a Fire Suppression System in New York City

Pumps still play a critical role in fire suppression, and modern booster pumps still have many things in common with the original ground-level pumps of yesterday. Now, buildings may use a series of pumps to supply adequate pressure; however, new National Fire Protection Association standards no longer allow vertical staging. Any serial fire suppression pumps must be in the same room, creating better fail-safes and improved efficiency.

While sprinkler systems are standard in apartment buildings and high-rises, they are not the only form of fire suppression found in NYC. Other critical safety systems include:

– Dry chemical
– Clean agent
– Foam
– Commercial kitchen
– CO2

A single property can have multiple suppression systems, depending on the activities in the building. Many business-residential properties have numerous systems in place.

Despite the differences between various systems, they all operate similarly. Each system connects to various heat and smoke sensors throughout the building. When smoke or flames trigger a sensor, an alarm sounds, and the sprinklers in the affected space release the extinguishing agent — water, foam, etc.

Beyond the Fire Suppression System in New York City

Fire Safety and Early Warning Systems

As a property owner, your concerns should go beyond fire suppression systems. While sprinkler systems are critical to the safety and longevity of your building and its tenants, other devices can help people respond or evacuate before such systems are necessary.

Fire extinguishers are not only mandatory in NYC properties, but they are also the first line of defense against small fires. If the workers in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory had access to fire extinguishers, they could have put out the initial blaze in the rag bin before it spread, saving over 100 lives.

Besides extinguishers, fire, and smoke alarms are also requirements in many buildings, especially in sleeping areas. If the tenants of the tenement building fire of 1860 had alarms, they might have escaped with their lives.

Regulations and Maintenance of a Fire Suppression System in New York City

Work With Licensed Professionals to Ensure Working Equipment

Fire prevention and safety rely on properly installing and maintaining any fire suppression system in New York City. As a property owner, you are liable for the systems in your properties, making you possibly financially culpable in the event of emergencies should safety systems fail because of negligence. Fire suppression pumps and other supply pumps require routine maintenance to ensure proper operations. Contact Antler Pumps at 212-534-2500 to schedule a property inspection of fire safety systems.