Hi - I am currently going through planning permission for a single storey extension in my mid terrace house. Our architect has spoken with building regs and the current situation is that they say we will need to install a sprinkler system on the ground floor - which will cost around 2k plus additional cost of several hundred pounds from the water company. They are also insisting we need to have a door on our stairs, which i can understand, but we are not convinced about the sprinkler system. Presumably the idea for the door is to stop smoke incase of fire etc but the sprinkler system seems unnecessary to us. unfortunately the new extension means that the stairs to the first floor will start in the middle of the house - therefore not possible to escape downstairs if there is a fire - we would have to escape from the first floor - which is easy from both the front and back. Is this sprinkler system really necessary and given that we are living in the house (i.e. it is not a development as such) is there any way to avoid having a sprinkler system - surely if we have a hardwired smoke alarm system, it will give us plenty of time to get out of the first floor. Responses and advice would be welcome - many thanks.