FM Sets Guinness World Record with 1,007 Fire Sprinklers
Staying true to the property protection philosophy that has driven the company for nearly two centuries, commercial property insurer FM Global announced that it has earned a Guinness World Records title for the world’s largest display of fire sprinklers.
A total of 1,007 sprinklers line the wall of the FM Research Campus lobby in West Glocester, Rhode Island, 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.
Guinness World Records Adjudicator Thomas Bradford 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 said as he handed a framed certificate to FM Research Campus Manager Ron Hinthorn following the confirmation.
The work behind the display
The record-setting display reflects serious work—including simulated commercial property fires—taking place deeper inside the 1,600-acre (648-hectare) FM Research Campus, the world’s largest and most sophisticated center for advancing the science of property loss prevention.
New record embodies property-protection mission of nearly two centuries at FM
FM’s legacy of resilience began with Zachariah Allen (1795-1882), a risk management visionary and founder of the company that would become FM. Today, FM 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. 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.
FM’s Fire Research and Technology
“Fire is the costliest and most dangerous risk to commercial property, and automatic sprinklers can be tremendously effective in mitigating it,” said Christopher Wieczorek, Ph.D., staff vice president, 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,” he said. “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.
