A residential sprinkler at a condominium apartment in East Brampton saved the day, according to firefighters.

From the Brampton Guardian article of 7 August 2011.

Sprinkler saved the day: Firefighters

By PAM DOUGLAS – Brampton Guardian August 7, 2011

A residential sprinkler system saved the day for an east end resident whose apartment caught fire recently, Brampton Fire and Emergency Services reports.  Fire crews were called to the third floor apartment at 4 Dayspring Circle on Thursday, Aug. 3 at 10:42 p.m. When they arrived, they found that the fire, which started in the kitchen and was cooking-related, had been extinguished by the activation of a single fire sprinkler head.

The lone occupant of the apartment escaped unharmed, and property damage was minimal, according to Brian Maltby, the city’s division chief, fire prevention. “The sprinkler head activation held the fire in check until the firefighters could arrive and resulted in very little fire or smoke damage,” Maltby said.

The apartment, and the two apartments directly below it on the second and first floors, suffered some water damage from the sprinkler head, but the property loss was “remarkably minor, considering what the outcome could have been,” Maltby said.

“The sprinkler system preformed exactly as intended, and this is truly an excellent example of the value of sprinklers in residential occupancies,” according to Maltby. He said he shudders to think what would have happened if the building had not been equipped with a sprinkler system, and he is confident the damage would have been much more extensive, posing a danger to the residents of the building.

Maltby and Brampton fire have been advocating for mandatory residential sprinkler systems for some time, pointing to incidents such as the Dayspring fire as examples of their effectiveness.