Can I put a used sprinkler head back in?

No. A sprinkler that has operated or been removed must be replaced with a new listed sprinkler of the same type, temperature rating, orifice and response.

Who can shut off the sprinkler system?

In an emergency with no fire, building staff can close the control valve. The system should be restored by a sprinkler contractor, and while it's off the area needs a fire watch.

Do you come out after hours?

Call us. If water is running and the valve won't close, or the system can't be restored, we treat it as an emergency.

A sprinkler head went off or is leaking: what to do now

Updated November 2026 · Bruhn & Bruhn Fire Protection

If there's any sign of fire, call 911 and leave the water on. If there isn't, shut the system's control valve, call your alarm company and a sprinkler contractor, and keep a fire watch until the system is back in service. The head has to be replaced with a matching one; it can't be reset.

First: is there a fire?

Sprinkler heads open from heat. If there's smoke, fire or heat, call 911, get people out, and leave the sprinkler system alone; the fire department will shut the water off when the fire is out.

If a head has been knocked, frozen, painted or simply failed, and there's clearly no fire, you can stop the water.

An open spare sprinkler cabinet beside a riser, with spare heads and a sprinkler wrench — The spare cabinet at the riser holds matching heads and the wrench to fit them, so a fused head can be replaced right away.

Stopping the water

Find the control valve for that system: an OS&Y valve (a wheel with a rising stem) or a post indicator valve outside, usually labeled at the riser. Turn it closed.
Open the main drain or the inspector's test valve to drain the water left in the pipe and take the pressure off.
Call your alarm monitoring company; the waterflow alarm and the valve tamper switch will both have signaled.
Move what you can out of the water and start drying out.

While the system is off

With the valve closed, that part of the building has no sprinkler protection. NFPA 25 treats this as an impairment: limit hot work and other risks, keep a fire watch walking the unprotected area until the system is back, and tell your insurer and, for longer outages, the fire department. Keep the outage as short as you can.

Replacing the head

A sprinkler that has operated, or has been damaged, painted or corroded, can't be reset or reused; it's replaced with a new one that matches its type, temperature rating, orifice and response. That's what the spare sprinkler cabinet at the riser is for: NFPA 25 asks for at least six spares in buildings with fewer than 300 sprinklers, twelve up to 1,000, and twenty-four above that, with the wrench to fit them.

We replace the head, refill and restore the system, check the alarms, and look at why it went off: a head too close to a heater, a dry pendent that froze, or a low point that needs draining. Then we restock the cabinet.

Questions owners ask

Can I put a used sprinkler head back in?: No. A sprinkler that has operated or been removed must be replaced with a new listed sprinkler of the same type, temperature rating, orifice and response.
Who can shut off the sprinkler system?: In an emergency with no fire, building staff can close the control valve. The system should be restored by a sprinkler contractor, and while it's off the area needs a fire watch.
Do you come out after hours?: Call us. If water is running and the valve won't close, or the system can't be restored, we treat it as an emergency.