I am by no means an expert -- but thought I'd share some of our 
experiences....

We at the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, (located in a 110 year old fire 
station), have a "dry" sprinkler system that was installed 5 or 10 years ago.   Our 
building recently underwent a million-dollar, nightmare-from-hell, building 
renovation, during the course of which we had several sprinkler heads pop.   Two 
went off when clumsy contractors knocked them during demo work, and a third 
when the wrong (low) temperature sprinkler head was put in a very warm 
skylight.   I'm happy to say the system "worked" -- water came out -- (and I'm even 
happier to say that the museum was empty of artifacts at the time so damage was 
minimal), but still -- it was a BIG MESS!   

Dry systems are designed to flood in less than a minute so there isn't much 
hope of turning it off in case of accidental tripping.   One of our staff 
members was present during one of the accidents (the skylight incident).   She 
heard the "pop" and "hiss" of air coming out of the pipes, but before she could 
figure out what was happening, water was flowing.   As said before, the water 
coming out of a "dry" system is pretty dirty and rusty and depending on your 
sprinkler head it can be a LOT of water in the span of a minute or so.

Had I to do it over again, I think we'd have installed a "pre-action" (or 
"double-action") system where the water flow valve is wired into your heat/smoke 
detectors.   This means when a sprinkler head breaks, confirmation is needed 
from another heat/smoke detector before the water is allowed to flow.   As I 
understand it this system is more expensive than a standard sprinkler system, 
but still less than an alternative "inert gas" system.

A final parting thought....   Make sure all your staff know what to do in 
case of fire, and fire sprinkler break.   Know what it sounds like when a dry 
system is "charged."   Know where your sprinkler shut off valve is, and how to 
turn it off, and regardless of the inconvenience, ALWAYS have your system tested 
annually.   Remember sprinklers don't just stop small fires from getting big, 
they also can save lives!   

 - David - 
David Lewis, curator (and chief umbrella-holder in case of emergency!)
Aurora Regional Fire Museum   
www.AuroraRegionalFireMuseum.org

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