Water Mist Case Study – New Build Care Home Facility
Background
July 2025
As the water mist system standards BS8458 for residential protection and BS8489 for commercial protection have been withdrawn, installers in the UK can no longer provide product to these standards.
Building control and other authorities having jurisdiction should no longer be able to accept systems installed to these standards, as they are no longer included in the building regulations part B (fire protection section)
BS9991 which also deal with fire protection matters no longer recognises water mist systems as an option in any format.
Please go to our fire sprinkler pages on this site for more information on how we can help you.
This project was an extensive water mist system installation on a new build luxury care home in Stamford, Lincolnshire.
Facilities for residents include a dedicated Dementia Wing alongside personalised residential care and nursing care purposely designed for residents with a 24-hour support requirement. Safety for both staff and the residents is of the highest priority.
Our client, Alyisa Caring, opted for the advanced technology used in water mist systems and selected Nationwide Fire Sprinklers as their preferred partner.
Due to our expertise, competitive costs, reputation within the sprinkler industry, and third party accreditation in all water mist technologies, Nationwide Fire Sprinklers were an obvious choice as project partner.
Water Mist System Design
This system has a total of 390 nozzles in it, and each nozzle can cover up to 25m2. It was designed and installed to the appropriate British Standard, in this case – “BS:8458:2015 Fixed fire protection systems. Residential and domestic water mist systems”.
The design drawings show the location of each pendant nozzle, and the pipe runs. Also detailed here is the appropriate cover to the corridor areas.
In the image above we can see the water mist nozzle in-situ and also showing how the position of the head has been co-ordinated with other services (such as lighting plans and smoke detection) to provide compliant cover and not interfere with the overall look and feel of the interior design.
Our client opted to choose the discreet pendant style nozzles with the optional white cover caps as these have a greater aesthetic value and blended in with the internal décor of the luxury care home. It was important that the nozzles did not look unsightly whilst also offering a high level of cover and protection.
As with every Nationwide Fire Sprinkler project we always work within the constraints of the clients’ programme of works.
Ensuring our works are done to suit the client and that all pre-requisite works are completed prior to our attendance help us to deliver on-time and on-budget.
Additionally, due to the size and complexity of the project the installation was done over a number of phases.
Working closely with our client, the fire suppression system water supply is shared with the domestic demand. There are advantages to this; cost, space-saving and a reduction in the time needed on site.
A separate feed from the tank was connected to our standalone multistage 3 Phase fire pump which was installed in the protected plant room.
(Left: Pump installation)
Installation – ATACS
Our unique Automatic Testing & Control System (ATACS) constantly monitors the whole system.
Designed to meet a specific requirement of the water mist British Standard (B.S.8458:2015) it carries out an automatic test on a rolling 28 day cycle.
Should system issues be detected, ATACS will report these without setting off the buildings fire alarm.
The power supply is also monitored with this device and alerts the client if power is removed for any reason immediately.
ATACS can be used in both traditional (sprinkler) and watermist fire suppression system.
