I certainly would not want to work in the company you work in where you personally would assume direct and full blame for something out of your control. Your boss in this case would in my view be considered an a**
I wouldn't expect my boss to hold me personally responsible for the sprinkler problem, but I _would_ be concerned if I had to tell him I couldn't get the product out on time (not the same time it would have been, but an allowance for delays would have been a good idea).
=aw