(Collingwood,
ON – March 7, 2013) Water damage claims
from accidental fire sprinkler activations hurt the bottom line of insurance
companies and increase the premiums of property owners. Shutgun, an innovative Fire Sprinkler Deactivation Tool,
was designed to shut off the activated sprinkler head quickly, isolating the
source of water and avoiding further headaches.
“A fire sprinkler head that is activated and
not immediately shut off can easily cause tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands
of dollars in damage,” said Greg Patterson, President of Technicraft Product
Design Inc. and inventor of Shutgun. “If the damage exceeds a property’s deductable,
usually $2,500 – it’s the insurance company who will be paying that out of
their pocket, and property owners will watch their premiums rise.”
Ross Humphry
is President of Canadian Safety Equipment, Shutgun’s leading distributor in Canada.
His reps have sold cases of the tool across the country to hotels, military
bases, fire departments and hospitals. “I would encourage Canadian insurance
companies to offer incentives to building owners that have a Shutgun on every
floor,” he says. “It only makes sense, as the insurance companies will be the
ones to save money in the long run.”
With water from
a sprinkler head releasing at flow rates
exceeding 25 gallons per minute, mere minutes can mean the difference
between a single room being out of operation for a few days to multiple rooms
on many floors being unavailable for weeks.
Joe Fisco of
Petra Risk Solutions in California says, “The bottom line is that
water damage is costly and this tool can greatly reduce the amount of money
that gets paid out in water damage claims.” Fisco is an advocate for Shutgun in
the hotel industry and continues by saying, “It also means time and resources
saved by fire departments that are called on scene to shut off a building’s water
source.”
Both Patterson
and Humphry have met with representatives in the insurance industry about
offering a credit to property owners who keep a Shutgun with every fire extinguisher,
and have been met with positive response.
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Conceived
by a Toronto District Fire Chief of 35 years, Shutgun provides property
managers and emergency responders with a one-handed, easy-to-use fire sprinkler
shut off tool. Shutgun avoids shutting off the main water supply to the
sprinkler system, thus giving continued fire protection. A fusible link
provides fire protection by melting and releasing the tool in the event of a
fire thus reactivating the sprinkler. Shutgun shuts off most types of sprinkler
heads including the semi-recessed style now popular in commercial complexes. www.shutgun.ca
Media: Amanda Sutton 705-791-7209 amanda@catalystcc.ca
Shutgun: Greg Patterson 1-866-827-8711 Greg@technicraftdesign.com
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