GLOCESTER – A town-based commercial property insurer now holds a Guinness World Records title for the largest display of fire sprinklers.
FM announced the news this month that a total of 1,007 sprinklers line the wall of the company’s Research Campus lobby in West Glocester, with models spanning from the 19th century to the present.
“The display vividly illustrates FM’s commitment to protecting commercial and industrial property, from Industrial Revolution textile mills to digital age data centers,” the business noted.
Guinness World Records Adjudicator Thomas Bradford reportedly counted every device in the display, keeping track of the tally on a handheld clicker counter.
“You are officially amazing and the recipient of a brand-new Guinness World Records title,” Bradford reportedly said as he handed a framed certificate to FM Research Campus Manager Ron Hinthorn following the confirmation
FM noted that the record-setting display reflects serious work—including simulated commercial property fires—taking place deeper inside the 1,600-acre campus, which the business said is the world’s largest and most sophisticated space for advancing the science of property loss prevention. Founded by Zachariah Allen nearly two centuries ago, FM today holds several patents on sprinkler technology.
“Automatic sprinklers, activated by heat, remain one of the most effective technologies available for suppression of early stage fires,” the business said in a release.
FM noted that in 94 percent of the structure fires reported in the United States from 2017 to 2021 in which sprinkler systems were present, fire spread was confined to the object or room of origin, according to the National Fire Protection Association. That compares to only 70 percent in properties with no automatic extinguishing system.
“Fire is the costliest and most dangerous risk to commercial property, and automatic sprinklers can be tremendously effective in mitigating it,” said Christopher Wieczorek, staff vice president and senior engineering technical specialist at FM. “We celebrate the technology as part of a strategy that includes research, data analysis, practical guidelines and product-approval criteria. Zachariah Allen would be proud of this record and the legacy of protection and loss prevention that it represents.”
Rhode Island State Fire Marshal Timothy McLaughlin attended the official award ceremony at the FM Research Campus.
“In my business, we’re big proponents of sprinklers. It’s part of our code,” said McLaughlin. “In this facility it’s proven—and everywhere it’s proven—that sprinklers prevent loss.”
To learn more about FM’s past and present fire research history, listen to the Sound Policy podcast episode with FM Chief Science Officer Lou Gritzo.
For more information about Guinness World Records, click here.
