[MSN] Watkins museum gets new sprinkler system; 120-year-old building switches from gas to water for fire suppression.

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Watkins museum gets new sprinkler system
120-year-old building switches from gas to water for fire suppression

By Mike Belt

January 9, 2008
Steve Douglas, foreman with Jayhawk Fire Sprinkler Co. in Topeka, installs
water pipe lines Tuesday in the attic of Watkins Community Museum of
History, 1047 Mass. The museum is in the process of installing a new
sprinkler system inside the museum.

Steve Douglas, foreman with Jayhawk Fire Sprinkler Co. in Topeka, installs
water pipe lines Tuesday in the attic of Watkins Community Museum of
History, 1047 Mass. The museum is in the process of installing a new
sprinkler system inside the museum.

A new sprinkler system is being installed at Watkins Community Museum of
History.

The $75,000 system replaces a 10-year-old FM-200 gas system used to put out
fires in the 120-year-old building at 1047 Mass. The switch from gas to
water is being made after a lightning strike two years ago caused most of
the gas to be expended when the suppression system was set off. There was no
fire and no damage from the lightning strike.

The hydrofluorocarbon gas in five of six tanks at the museum was expended at
the time of the lightning strike. They were not refilled because of the
expense, leaving only one tank for fire suppression. It would have taken
about $40,000 to refill the tanks, Rebecca Phipps, museum director, said.

"We decided it would be better to go with water," she said.

The sprinklers are being installed on the top three floors, which includes
the storage area for artifacts that are not on display. Once installed, the
system will not protect the lower two floors or the basement.

Phipps said those floors would be covered once funds become available to
install an entire system that she estimated would cost $100,000. The
building does meet fire codes because there are fire extinguishers on all of
the floors.

The sprinkler system is being installed by Topeka-based Jayhawk Fire
Sprinkler Co. and it will take two or three more weeks to complete.

"It's about the oldest building I've worked on," Jayhawk foreman Steve
Douglas said of the building constructed in 1888.

The storage room protected by the sprinklers includes numerous artifacts
from different time periods, including clothing, military uniforms,
textiles, washing machines, typewriters and computers. There are rows of
shelves filled with boxes.

"There's just about everything here that people used," Phipps said.

The museum is covered by insurance but each one of the artifacts isn't
individually covered, Phipps said.

"That would be too expensive. Museums generally don't insure all of (their)
items," she said.

If set off, the water could damage artifacts but that damaged can be
reversed, Phipps said.

"You can't reverse fire damage," she said.

The sprinkler installation required a new water line to be installed to the
museum. Workers have been doing that job for the past couple of weeks. Late
last week, 11th Street between Massachusetts and Vermont streets was closed
for that work. This week the street was open but one westbound lane was
closed and the alley was blocked off.

Originally published at:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jan/09/watkins_museum_gets_new_sprinkler_s
ystem/