On the advice of their insurance company, Fitness First contacted Fireworks for expertise on upgrading fire protection in its saunas. The health club group chose Fireworks’ high pressure watermist solutions for a number of its saunas throughout the UK.

Fitness First opened their first club in Bournemouth in 1993 and now have clubs in 16 different countries making them one of the global leaders within the fitness industry.

Risk of fires in saunas

Protecting leisure centres and hotels from the risk of fire starting in saunas is crucial. Saunas are constructed from timber and can reach temperatures of up to 95° C. Electrical faults from sauna lighting, thermostat malfunctions, or simply the failure to switch off heaters are just some of the fire hazards. Many fires in saunas are caused by towels igniting at high temperature, due to traces of beauty products or oils that guests use. These fires can quickly spread to other areas of a building.

Compact, efficient fire protection for saunas

The relatively high risk of fire from saunas in hotels and leisure centres requires additional fire protection precautions in addition to those already found in other areas of a building .

The Fireworks fire protection solution used for each of the Fitness First saunas is a highly-compact and efficient high pressure watermist system, especially designed for small installations. A small  wall-mounted pump unit, located near the sauna, is connected via a stainless steel pipe to a single nozzle positioned within each sauna. No water tank is needed, as the system connects to the local water supply.

The Fireworks solution is easily retro-fitted into existing saunas and steam rooms, due to the very small diameter of the stainless steel pipes used. Full installation of the system can be completed in less than one day.

Test-proven to extinguish sauna fires in less than two minutes

The watermist nozzles located in each sauna are automatically activated when heat levels in the sauna reach a predefined temperature. The pump feeds water to the nozzle, which emits a fine mist of water. This mist instantly converts to steam upon contact with the flames, cooling the fire and surrounding surfaces.

Testing of the Fireworks solution for saunas by the BRE show that it suppresses and extinguishes fires in saunas in less than 2 minutes. The solution’s fast-cooling abilities prevent reignition. High pressure watermist also has the unique advantage of rapidly reducing the spread of smoke.  

Full services and maintenance

Fireworks brings the assurance of a full service solution, from consulting and design, to installation and maintenance. After sales support is provided by in-house teams of trained engineers, with a 24/7 call-out service.