Introduction

There are large level differences between reliability studies. For example, a recent study in the United States (National Fire Protection Association Research, 2017) sets reliability at 88%, while a study in Australia and New Zealand finds 99.5% (Maybee, 1988), and one in the UK says 93% (Optimal Economics, 2017). What is a fire, how does it behave, and what happens when automatic water-based sprinklers are engaged? A brief introduction gives some basic answers to these questions. Sprinklers have been used since the 1860s because water is cheap, available, environmentally safe, and easy to use. Overall, a sprinkler system has four possible outcomes in a fire: not operate, control it, extinguish it or postpones or delay flashover to the point where sprinklers have no more control. Sprinkler reliability is the ability to function as designed to meet a sprinkler standard with a correct fire hazard.