13 June 2003
Education authorities should fit sprinkler systems wherever possible in schools or face rocketing insurance premiums, insurer Zurich Municipal has warned.
It said the cost of arson in schools reached almost £100m last year and that the proportion of fires started during the school day had reached 50% in metropolitan areas.
Zurich Municipal has urged the government to make sprinklers compulsory in all new and refurbished schools. A spokesman said: 'Premiums are not keeping up. The cost of damage was £24m in 1999 and is now £96.6m.'
He said authorities that installed sprinklers would 'definitely' enjoy lower premiums, and that sprinklers would pay for themselves in seven-to-ten years through insurance savings alone.
An Arson Prevention Bureau report, School arson: education under threat, notes the cost to authorities of school fires could be far higher than damage to buildings alone.
It said councils must factor in the cost of fire brigade and police time and disruption to teachers and pupils while a school is rebuilt.
PFjun2003
