Hi Lisa;

From what we heard from our consultant as we were planning our new
building (which, we don't move into until this fall, so I can't offer
"real experience" with it yet), we'd still go with a wet-pipe system in
your situation.  A potential fire would have to reach a certain level
before the pre-action kicks in; it could be your collection that's
feeding it until the water starts to flow.  Water-damaged records can
often be conserved; nothing can be done to bring back burned ones. 
There are additional measures you can take to protect your collections
from an accidental leak (having a 'roof' on  your shelving units, or not
storing anything on the top shelf so that shelf becomes your roof;
plastic/cotton sheeting along the open sides of your shelves to help
shed water; use of compactor units that, when closed, afford some water
protection; keeping all collections 4-6" off the floor, etc.).

There are other issues that favour a wet-pipe over an average dry-pipe
system as well; see my post on the "fires suppression" thread from Jan.
28th.

Cheers,


------------------------------------------------------------
Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History
Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery
1302 Bomford Crescent S.W.
Medicine Hat, AB   T1A 5E6
(403) 502-8587
[log in to unmask]

Disclaimer: The information transmitted is intended only for the 
addressee and may contain confidential, proprietary and/or privileged 
material.  Any unauthorized review, distribution or other use of or
the taking of any action in reliance upon this information is
prohibited.  If you received this in error, please contact the sender
and delete or destroy this message and any copies

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).