The UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) has dismissed plans to make the installation of sprinkler systems mandatory in all facilities.

Currently, they are only required in sites over 20,000 sq m in size, but organisations have called for the rules to apply throughout the entire industry. This is following research conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, which revealed that depot fires cost the UK economy over £1 billion during the last five years.

Roger Williams, chief executive of UKWA, commented: "The words 'sprinklers in warehouses' usually raise eyebrows and any talk of 'retrospective fitting of sprinklers in warehouses' is guaranteed to get warehouse operators' blood pressure creeping up."

He added that instead, it would be more prudent to prevent the escalation of a blaze and increase the use of suppression systems. This is due to the Fire Service's policy of letting fires extinguish naturally, if it poses no danger to human life.

Williams urged all interested parties to join together and devise a sensible way of solving the problem.