By Gord Parker WASP Consultant and Structure Protection Specialist with BC Wildfire Service.
The WASP Gutter Mount kits can come with two different sizes of sprinkler heads. The sprinkler below is a Nelson R2000 rotator sprinkler that will flow around 4.5 gallons per minute at 50 psi. The stream reach is approximately 35 feet and a 70 foot diameter of coverage. The sprinklers will continue to rotate at pressures as low as 12 psi. and as high as 80 psi. At lower pressure the sprinkler will have a reduced stream reach and a slower rotation. At higher psi. the sprinkler will rotate faster, have a slightly longer reach and the gallons per minute flow will also increase. I find the optimum pressure for best performance is 50 psi. The R2000 sprinkler head was the standard head in the first kits produced but the newer kits come with the sprinkler below. The R2000 heads can still be requested but would need to be ordered directly from WASP.

The sprinkler below is the standard sprinkler that comes in the current WASP kits. This is a Nelson R10T rotator sprinkler which flows 1.8 gpm at 50 psi. At this pressure the stream reach is approximately 25 feet which will be a 50 foot diameter of coverage. The sprinkler has the same operating pressure range as the R2000. A rotator sprinkler has no mechanical parts, the rotation is created by the position of the nozzle. With this small sprinkler comes a smaller inside nozzle diameter so these sprinklers really need clean water or they will plug up. Note that the Guttermount bracket has two sprinkler mounting ports. One is a flat mount and the other is an angled port. If you want to change the sprinkler stream angle you can twist the sprinkler out, then twist out the plug in the other port. Switch positions and retighten. ( best to use a wrench and just snug them into position)

WASP Gutter Mount fascia/fence mounting bracket below comes in each kit. This allows the sprinkler to be attached to the structure even if they have no rain gutters. The mounting bracket can be attached to a fence post a pole or 2x4” lumber to raise the sprinkler up.

Below is an offset bracket with an impact sprinkler. We use this sprinkler bracket a lot when we are tactically deploying sprinklers for the province of BC. This bracket can be screwed to the fascia of a house at the highest point of a house. It is made from aluminum and comes with either a 4.0 gpm or 8.0 gpm impact sprinkler. These are also screwed onto fence posts poles or 2x4” lumber.

A few things that I have learned over the years in structure protection that are worth mentioning.
Check with the utility department and fire department about water usage. Heavy sprinkler use can draw down a municipal water system quickly not leaving any water for fire department operations or causing contamination of the system. I would encourage people to meet with the local responders and let them know which structures have sprinklers and how to activate them. We would take the homeowner information and build it into our operational plan to turn sprinklers on or to incorporate their sprinklers into our own water supply system. If the fire department doesn’t want you turning on the sprinklers you are still ahead of the curve because the sprinklers are installed and ready to go. They just need to turn them on.
Don’t use sprinklers as a crutch to avoid completing the Fire Smart recommendations. Sprinklers are most effective when Fire Smarting has taken place in the home ignition zone.
Close all doors and windows into the structure before evacuating. The best Fire Smart/sprinkler protected buildings are at risk of igniting if embers can get into the interior home contents.
Don’t miss your chance to evacuate safely because you want to install your sprinklers. Do this ahead of time when the fire danger level moves to high or extreme. Don’t wait for fire to be in the area. Last minute evacuees usually find traffic congestion due to other last minute evacuees fleeing, panicked people, blocked escape routes and fast moving fire.
Sprinklers can increase the survivability of a value if they are placed correctly and are active as the ember front/ fire front arrives. You don’t have to use a lot of water to be effective with sprinklers. 1.8 gpm sprinklers have proven to be effective in preventing home ignition with as little as 15-30 minute run time prior to the ember front/fire front arrival.
I tend to build my sprinkler systems to run for two hours. I shoot for 15-30 minutes before the fire gets there, 15 minutes while the fire is there and then 15-30 minutes after the fire has passed through. I give around 45-60 minutes on the front end of the sprinkler run because it is only a best guess when the fire will actually arrive. This timing is meant for trained personnel with proper personal protective gear. Don’t wait around to turn sprinklers on 30 minutes before the fire gets there. When told to leave by the authorities leave.
When mounting the sprinklers, place them on the side(s) of the structure that have the greatest exposure to embers and fire.
Try and mount the sprinklers as high as safely possible on the structure. We want to create a rain effect.
Don’t let the sprinkler stream impact the walls, doors, windows, chimneys, vents or roof of a structure. Water will find a way inside.
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