VdS and the sprinkler

Pioneer in fire protection

VdS has accompanied the development and spread of sprinklers from the very beginning: From the sprinkler monitoring centre to the present day, VdS, with its immense wealth of experience and proven technical expertise, has been able to decisively advance the use of sprinkler systems both in Germany and internationally.

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1960s

The spread of the technology accelerates

While the 1950s were also characterised by post-war reconstruction for VdS, the spread of sprinkler technology in Germany finally took off at the beginning of the 1960s. In the meantime, one of the main areas of application for sprinkler testing was the large number of department stores that had opened as a result of the economic miracle. In 1964, the VdS Technical Inspection Services were already monitoring 503 sprinkler systems in Germany. By 1970, the number had risen to 1,500 systems and around 3.5 million installed sprinklers.

1971

Opening of the first sprinkler laboratory

The essential type tests on fire detection technology products and components of fire extinguishing systems had become so extensive that the laboratory previously used at Aachen Technical University was unable to meet the requirements. As a result, VdS opened its own sprinkler laboratory in Cologne for the first time in 1971 - alongside other laboratories in the field of fire prevention and protection technology. This not only made it possible to meet the sharp increase in order volumes and the expansion of the Technical Inspection Services' field of activity, but also to use the latest equipment and state-of-the-art measuring devices to investigate in-depth technical issues relating to current developments in firefighting.

1980s

Fundamental investigation of new sprinkler types

Advances in construction technology and the demands of industrial rationalisation led to the development of ever larger production and storage facilities. The use of assembly lines required considerably larger rooms that were housed under one roof. In the 1980s, the fire protection industry responded to the resulting challenges by introducing a new type of sprinkler: The ESFR sprinkler - ESFR = Early Suppression Fast Response - is designed to suppress fires with high ceilings as early as possible with very early activation and a significantly higher discharge rate. New measuring equipment was required to test the new sprinkler types. The umbrella organisation of the national European associations of insurance companies (CEA - Comité Européen des Assurances, today: Insurance Europe) therefore commissioned the VdS laboratory to carry out basic investigations and extensive test fire series under different storage conditions.

1994

Government accredited certification body and laboratories

In 1994, the VdS laboratories - as well as the Technical Inspection Services - were accredited by the German Accreditation Centre for Technology. This made VdS one of the first accredited laboratories and certification bodies in Europe as part of the Europe-wide harmonisation of technical requirements and certification procedures. With its laboratories, VdS is now one of the few institutions in Germany and Europe that can certify conformity with the European safety requirements required for the CE mark.

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VdS has accompanied the development and spread of sprinklers from the very beginning: From the sprinkler monitoring centre to the present day, VdS, with its immense wealth of experience and proven technical expertise, has been able to decisively advance the use of sprinkler systems both in Germany and internationally.

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