Sinclair Fire Protecton, Inc.

 NO!  Only the fire sprinklers that have been  directly subjected to the heat of a fire will activate.   Smoke won't do  it.  Fire on the other side of the house won't do it.  Only the fire  sprinklers directly over the fire will activate. 

And another thing... They don't all look like the picture above. The only visible part of most residential sprinklers is just a little flat disk on the ceiling about 3" in diameter.

 Yeah, sorry about that...Fire sprinklers are mandatory for all new  homes and commercial buildings, and all remodeling projects where 51% or  more of the square footage is being remodeled.   In some cases, the  Fire Marshal may also determine that fire sprinklers are mandatory, even  if less than 51% of the building is affected by a remodel. 

Fire sprinklers save lives, and homes. In a home with fire sprinklers, a single sprinkler usually puts out the fire, and the fire department only has to roll up and turn off the water.

True story... Few years ago in Novato, a family went out with visitors the day before Thanksgiving, and left a turkey to cook on the stove in a vat of oil... yep, FIRE!  One sprinkler head put out the fire and the fire department called Sinclair Fire Protection (we were nearby) to replace the activated sprinkler head.

Oh, and fire sprinklers can save your neighbors' homes as well. In an environment like Marin, where beautiful homes cover hillsides, house fires can spread.  

Send us an email with your architectural plans and tell us a few sentences about your project.  If there is anything tricky about the job, we're happy to do a site visit to see the project and give you a chance to meet us.

 A: Three things:
1. The water meter upgrade.  Most residential water meters in Marin are  size 5/8".  This is too small to supply enough water for a fire  sprinkler system, so you'll need to get the water district to upgrade  your water meter.  We will tell you what size water meter you'll need  after we design the system and do the hydraulic calculations.  In most cases, it's about three hundred dollars.  
 

2. The water pipe from the meter to the house.  Most general contractors  prefer the plumber to handle this portion of the job.  The plumber  needs to check with us to see what size the water line needs to be.
 

3. Every fire sprinkler system has a detector (flow switch) that  monitors water flow.  If any fire sprinkler goes off, the flow  switch activates the alarm bell.  Your electrician must wire 120 volts  to the flow switch, with another wire leading to the bell.  We will tell  the electrician where to put the bell.  Any experienced electrician  should be familiar with this process.
 

(Special note for residents of San Anselmo, Ross, Fairfax, Larkspur, and Corte Madera: Smoke detectors must be interconnected to the fire bell. Be sure to tell your electrician!)
 

 Phone: 415-883-9400

 Email:  deansinclair@sbcglobal.net

Mailing Address:
                P.O. Box 5398 
                Novato, CA 94948
 

Visit us at:
                390 Bel Marin Keys Boulevard
                Suite 11
                Novato