I know this is an old thread, but according to the BBC, the sprinkler system was an award winning design.

In Oz, we have had plenty of warehouse fires, & in many cases, the old style "non-award winning" sprinkler system saved the building & equipment.

The stock was often not so lucky, but was usually saleable in some form or the other.



I have been a unbeliever in "award winning designs", ever since, many years ago, I ventured into a tool store to buy a "centre punch".

They had a nice one, made in Britain, & recipient of the "Duke of Ediburgh's Export Award".

It was a thing of beauty, complete with a Teflon finger grip, a fancy blister pack, & so on.



The first time I used it, the tip broke off & flew across the room.



I still needed a centre punch, so I went to the local hardware store, where they had a box of Australian made ones on the shelf.

No fancy pack, no brand name, no award, no Teflon, no Duke, but it lasted me for years "rattling around" in the bottom of my toolbox.



More "on topic", even if a fault was not caused by a machine fault, life & packaging has its own little traps.



Even further in antiquity, I worked in a Electronics wholesaler.

The Electrical Department, two benches away, sold, along, with all the multiple delights suggested by their name, Eveready Lantern Batteries (the squarish ones with two spring contacts on top.).

They would from time to time get warranty returns of these batteries, test them, & dump the faulty ones in the "bin."



This place was a bit Dickensian, & the bin, shared by the "Radio' & Electrical Departments, consisted of a large "tea chest", into which all the detritus of daily work was deposited, including used wrapping paper & plastic, as well as the aforesaid "lantern batteries.



By pure luck, I noticed a small wisp of smoke coming from the bin.

Much panic, as we tipped it out, stomping upon the burning material, & finding two supposedly "dead" lantern batteries in an +ve to -ve, -ve to +ve "embrace", getting hotter & hotter by the second!



Such batteries are still stocked at many department stores.

Some have a substantial plastic "cap" covering each spring, but others rely on a much thinner & more brittle piece of plastic covering both springs.

I have seen that style, with the "piece of plastic" either missing, or cracked, revealing either or both spring contacts.

