In 1807 John Carey invented a perforated sprinkler connected to a pipe system. It operated automatically when the heat of a fire burnt through a cord which held closed weighted valves. He had the right idea but the records remain silent of his success. Possibly the oldest sprinkler installation in Britain was fitted in 1812 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane & an updated form is still in use today.

In 1864 an automatic sprinkler head considered to be the forerunner of the present-day sprinkler was introduced but never marketed. A significant breakthrough came in 1874 when an American, Henry Palmer Lee, produced the first automatic sprinkler to be commercially marketed. The first English installation of the Palmer Lee System was erected in the Cotton Mills of John Stones & Co., Astley Bridge, Bolton.

Furthermore, automatic sprinkler systems are used more than any other fixed fire protection system and over 40 million sprinkler heads are fitted world-wide each year. Losses from fires in buildings protected with sprinklers are estimated to be 1/10 of those in unprotected buildings.

- 99% of fires were controlled by sprinklers alone.
- 60% of fires were controlled by the spray from no more than 4 sprinkler heads.
  Source: (European statistics over 10 year period)
- Accidental discharge of water from all causes is 1 in 500,000 (per year of service).  Source: (LPCB) UK
- Accidental discharge of water due to manufacturing defects is 1 in 14,000,000 (per year of service).
  Source: FM (USA) and LPCB (UK) statistics