Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2 ~2~
l his invention relates to a method and apparatus and installation for ~he
protection of buildings in bush fires.
BAGK~;ROUND C)F THE INVEN.TIQN.
Sevsre bush fires usually occur when there is a high temperature and also a
very strong wind. Due to ~he bush fire itself the wind velocity is often increased
and this blows the extremely hot air in front of the fire face to such an extent that
even though there may be a clear area around the building, the extreme heat
1 0 would often cause the walls, window frames and the like to begin burning, this
usually beginning by the paint being ignited by the intense heat. Also the
extreme heat can cause the glass in the windows to fracture thus allowing the
hot air, sparks and flying debris to enter the buildin~ to cause combustion frorn
the inside of the building.
1 5
Various systems have been devised for protecting a building, and one of these
has included the installation of rotary water sprinklers around the edge of the
building and over the roof of the building. While these sprinklers do deliver a
large quantity of water, this is sprayed upwardly and outwardly in all directions
2 0 and while it may have a cooling effect on the air around the building, due to the
fact that in circumstances of high bush firs danger, the strong winds usually
prevalent at these times rapidly disperse and blow away the water issuing from
these sprinklers thus negating the desired effect.
2 5 ~9c~e
in AU-A-40128/85 there is disclosed an installation for the protection of
buildings in bush fire conditions, this including at least one water supply pipesurrounding the building, and spray nozzles directing a sheet like spray of water
3 0 downwardly around the outside of the building, and further jets directing a sheet
like spray of water over the roof of the building.
Also FR22~8201 allows sprinkling sf water evenly over the entire surface of the
roof and walls.
3 ~2~
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION.
There is provided according to the invention an installation for the protection of
buildings in bush fire conditions, the installation including a water storage, a5 water supply pipe extending around the perime~er of the building, pump means
to supply the pipe with water from the water storage, and sprinkler means
positioned exteriorily of and spaced from the outer surface of the building to
direct sprays of water in sheet form inwardly to spray the water against the outer
surface of the building and upwardly over the roof of the building.
1 0
BRIEF DESS:~RIPTION OF THE DRAWING~;.
FIG. 1 is a partial elevation of a portion of a building with one form of
installation, 5
FIG. 2 is a view along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a further form of the invention,
2 O FIG. 4 is a view of a still further form of the invention,
FIG. 5 is anothar form of the invention, and
FIG. ~ shows the invention applied to a verandah or the like strudure.
L~
In a preferred form of the invention, the installation can comprise a water supply
pipe 1 extending around the perimeter of the building 2 having a wall 3 and a
3 O roof 4. The roof 4 extends beyond the wall 3 to form an eaves 5 with the gutter 6
attached to the facia board 7. The under surface of the eaves is closed by a
board 8.
The water supply pipe 1 in this embodiment is positioned under the eaves 5
3 5 above the board 8, and thus in this embodiment can be installed when the
building is erected. At intervals of say 2 or 3 metes there are provided branch
'7
pipes 9 extending from ~he supply pipe 1 to ~he spray pipes 10 which extend
vertically. Each spray pipe can be a copper pipe having its ends closed and
adjacent its ends is provided with spraying aperture such as a slit 11, which can
be formed by a simple saw cut. The spray pipe toward its upper end can be
5 bent so as to extend generally at right angles to the plane of the surface of the
roof so that the spraying aperture directs the spray of water generally parallel to
the surface of the roof. The ends of the spray pipes can be closed by a plug of
copper, brass or other suitabl~ material brazed, welded or oth0rwise seaied to
the end of the spray pipe.
1 0
As shown in Fla. 2 the spray pipes 10 are spaced along the outer perirneter of
the building such that the water sprays issuing therefrom overlap to a certain
extent to ensure that the entire surface o~ the wall is covered by water runningdown over the wall.
1 5
In FIG. 3 the installation can be fitted to an existing building and in this instance
the supply pipe 1 is attached to the facia board 7 undarneath the
gutter 6, the branch pipe 9 being of correspondingly shorter length.
2 0 FIG. 4 shows a similar installation for a building which does not have eaves, for
example a shed or garage having a wall 12, roof 13 and gutter 14. In this
instance the supply pipe 1 is attached to ths facia board 15 directly below the
gutter 14 with the branch pipe 9 being of a length to position the spray pipe 10just outside the line of the gutter 14.
With re~erence to FIG. 5, this is similar to FIG. 4 with the water supply pipe 1positioned above the gutter, for example on a leaf guard 16.
Turning now to FIG. 6 there is shown how the invention is adapted to protect a
3 0 verandah, carport, pergola or other structure on a building. The water supply
pipe 1 is positioned below the gutter 14 and is provided with a spray pipe 17 toextend downwardly through the roof 18 of the structure. The spray pipe 17 is
provided with sprayin~ apertures 19, 20 and 21, the aperture spr~ying water
along the upper surfacs of the roof 18, the aperture 20 spraying water back
3 5 against the wall 12 of the main building, one aperture spraying water along the
underside of the roof of the structure, also pipe 17 extends upwardly having
aperture 22 to spray water up over the roof of the building.
Thus it wili be seen that according to the invention the outer surfaces of a
5 building are protected. By the water running down the walls of the building the
outer surface thereof is cooled and protected. Also this wa~er would run over
the windows keeping these cool so that they would not shatter from the heat.
As shown the water is also sprayed onto the roof. In order to ensure that the
1 0 roof area is covered by tha sprays of water, a supply pipe can run up the roof,
either above or under the roofing material so that sprinklers can be positioned
on the roof, along a ridge to ensure that all araas are covered. These ridge
sprinklers can be staggered with respect to the ones on the eaves or gutters to
ensure adequate coverage and overlap.
1 5
The water supply can be ~rom a tank or other water storage unit, preferably one
in which the water is collected from the run oM from the roof of the building. Thus
the water which is sprayed onto the roof of the building is collected and thus is
saved and can be reused, suitable filters being provided prior to entry into the2 0 tank to collect ash and other flying debris. Additional filters may be providecl if
desired between the tank and the pump. As the electrical supply would not be
reliable in a bush fire situation, the pump would preferably be driven by an
internal combustion engine.
2 5 The water supply pipe can be a copper pipe and the branch pipes also of
copper which are welded or brazed to the water supply pipe. Thus the spray
pipes are also welded or brazed to the branch pipes, and the spray pipes can
be bent as desired so that the water is directed as desired. The spray aperturescan be simple saw cuts and, the size of cut can be usad to achieve ~he desired
3 0 water output. By increasing the size of the slot the water output can be
increased. Also the water supply can be increased by increasing the size of the
water supply pipes, feed pipes and pump/motor combination.
Thus there is provided around the parimeter of the building a continuous supply
3 5 of water flowing down the walls of the building. It will be seen that even on the
side of the building facing the oncoming fire, that the flow of water will protect
tnat side of the building and the wind would assist in the sprays directing the
water onto the walls of the building and the windows and doors, thus keeping
thes~ virtually saturated and cool.
5 By having the spray nozzles positioned outside the perimeter of the building the
spray of water by being directed back onto the walls of the building, the spray of
water is protecting the underside of the eaves, this spray preventing the heat
and any flying debris from igniting this area of the eaves. The spray nozzles
spraying the water over the roof will cause the guttering to be flooded with water
10 thus preven~ing any leaves and o~her debris in the guttering from igniting.
The spray nozzles of the invention are sirnple to produce, and have no moving
or working parts. Thus maintenance is at a minimum. The outlet from the pump
may have a branch with two outlets, each controlled by a valve, one being a
1 5 return to the pump and the other to the sprinkler system. To test the pump and
run the motor occasionally, the spray may recirculate the water through to tank
without having to waste water through the spinklers.
Also during a heat wave the building can be cooled by operating the system for
2 O a few minutes, whereby the temperature of the interior can be quickly be
lowered.
The pump and motor would desirably be positioned and sited so that they would
be protected from the bushfire irrespective of the direction from which the
2 5 bushfire approaches the building.
The invention can be applied, not only to single storied buildings, but also
multi-storied buildings, flats, factories and the like, also it can be used on marine
craft, ships and the like whero the pump may draw water from the ocean, lake
3 O etc. Also in a further embodiment, the tank can be connect~d to the
mainsreticulated supply by a float valve, so that even during periods of draughtthe tank is left full of water. Furthermvre additional sprinklers can be provided in
the ground around the house to spray water over and saturate the ground and
vegetation before the fire reaches the property, as the sprinklers spray the water
3 5 parallel to the ground and not into the air, greater saturation with less
7 2 ~
evaporation is achiaved. Common garden and irrigation sprinklers spray the
water into the air causing great losses by evapoartion in these circumstances
Also it will be appreciated that the rnotor and pump would be operated before
5 the bush fire reaches the building so that the building is cooled and wet before
the fire reaches the building. In severe bush fires flying burning debris often
precedes the main fire front, and it is known that eucalyptus trees will
spontaneously ignite well in advance of the main fire front.
1 0 In order to ensure that the pump and motor operate in advance of the fire when
thore is nobody on the premises to start the motor, the motor could be activatedby a telephone call to a specific number the telephone received activatlng a
control member which would then start the motor. Altsrnatively the motor may
be started by the receip~ of a special radio signal which may be from a radio
1 5 station or private radio transmitter, CB radio or the like.
Thus it will be seen that there is provided according to the invention a system
and installation for the protection of buildings in a bush fire situation, and
although various alternatives have been described the invention is not to be
2 0 limited thereto, but can include variations and modifications falling within the
spirit and scope of the invention.
