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Cryonics Institute Sprinkler System

by Ben Best

For many years we at CI have felt that the expense of a sprinkler system was not justified for the CI Facility. There is very little that is flammable, drywall is protective and the cryostats are coated with or imbedded with fire retardant. The older (rectangular) cryostats were constructed with 10% antimony trioxide fire retardant incorporated into the fiberglass-resin composite. The HSSV-6 cylindrical cryostats are coated with a fire retardant known as Fire-Free 88, which we selected after exhaustive research into the market for retardants. Facilities Manager Andy Zawacki demonstrated that three coats of FF88 could withstand a full minute of the hottest portion of a blowtorch without penetration.

However, the American Cryonics Society has 18 patients stored at CI and they offered to pay half the cost of putting a sprinkler system in the building. Bids were taken from three contractors, and after checking references and prices a contract was accepted by Interstate Fire Protection, Inc. First the building was filled with pipes and sprinkler heads by a pipefitter and his assistant, then subcontractors (a husband and wife team) connected the pipes in the CI Facility to the water main running on the other side of the street by digging up the road and making a trench along the side of the CI Facility. Below is a photo essay of the project.

Pipes ready for mounting

Mounting a pipe

Sprinkler goes into office

Sprinkler goes into boardroom

Black pipes for sprinkler, silver pipes for liquid nitrogen

Husband with jackhammer

Wife with shovel

Unfortunately, the water main for Sorrentino Court lies on the opposite side of the street from the CI building. This meant that to tap the water main for the additional water that the sprinkler system would require meant digging up the street -- adding substantially to the cost of the system. Also unfortunately, when digging across the street to reach the water main, the pipe running into our neighbor's building was struck and water gushed-out, filling the hole that was being dug. As a neighborly gesture, we invited the neighbor's to use the toilet in our building, if needed.

Big shovel breaks a water pipe

Big shovel bailing water

Neighbors get new water pipe

Water main is exposed

Hole drilled into water main

Enough work for one day

CI Building across the street from the water main

Not only men were working

Husband with big shovel

Wife with little shovel

Digging across the whole street

Continue digging between buildings

Digging to reach the perfusion room

Bailing wet mud from hole by perfusion room

Inlet for water from fire truck

Tapping water from the main

Chlorine flushed from pipe in perfusion room

Water runs through the building and down the drain

Concrete poured into street

Concrete spread on north half of street

South half of street ready for concrete

Concrete spread on south side of street

Concrete spread on perfusion room

Installation of control valves in perfusion room

Fully installed control valves in perfusion room

Front View	Side View

Alarm and water inlet on the outside of the building