ABSTRACT
An Automatic sprinkler system is the most efficient way to deliver water to a fire, certainly exceeding delivery of water by manual hose streams, which may be difficult to bring to bear directly on the seat of the fire. The main types of sprinkler systems are wet-pipe, dry-pipe, preaction, and deluge systems, with all but a relatively small percentage installed falling within the first two categories (wet-and dry-pipe systems). Dry-pipe systems can be made to operate more rapidly by providing a quick-opening device at each dry-pipe valve consisting of an accelerator or an exhauster. The preaction system is used where more sophisticated equipment such as computers may be located and where the possibility of an accidental discharge of water from a sprinkler head cannot be tolerated. A municipal connection is often the primary and sole supply for sprinkler systems, except for the ability of a fire department to manually pump water into a system through a fire department hose connection.
