This is mostly off-topic, but somewhat related, I think. Anyway, I know there are at least a few firefighters on the board, and probably others that know details about fire sprinklers and their history.
In many movies, TV shows, etc., a fire alarm will trigger all of the sprinklers in the building. I know that on modern systems, each head activates separately. (I think there are some systems for special applications that activate multiple heads at once, but my question is about standard systems that you'd find in office areas.)
Did building sprinkler systems ever activate all the heads at once, or is this purely a Hollywood invention?
