NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative

Are you looking for documented fire sprinkler successes? There’s a report for that.

NFPA’s Fire Analysis and Research Division published a report last October, Sprinkler Successes in Selected Properties, to document successful fire sprinkler activations. The incidents are divided by occupancy group – including one- and two-family homes- showing how sprinklers operate in real fires.

The report contains a collection of previously published incidents, compiled from NFPA’s studies of large-loss fires and the “Firewatch” column from NFPA Journal. It shows that “sprinklers are highly effective, reliable weapons in the fight to save lives and property from fire.”

Read the Sprinkler Successes in Selected Properties report

For additional studies about home fire sprinklers visit the Research/Reports section  

 

 

 

Fire sprinklers prove their worth in Glen Ellyn, IL cooking fire

A cooking fire that spread to kitchen cabinets was quickly extinguished by one sprinkler located at the ceiling, near the center of the kitchen. The fire department arrived and removed a small amount of water from the kitchen floor. Lieutenant Donald Iacobazzi of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company said; “fire and smoke damage was kept to a minimum because of the sprinkler system working so quickly.”

Lieutenant Iacobazzi also said that “the homeowner first attempted to use a dry chemical extinguisher (stored under the sink) but he pulled the trigger and it would not work,” . A portable fire extinguisher can put out, or contain, a small fire until the fire department arrives, but it has limitations. Users need to know how to operate the extinguisher and make sure that it is kept in good working order. NFPA recommends that “because fire grows and spreads so rapidly, the number one priority for residents is to get out safely.”

The main purpose of home fire sprinklers is to protect people in the event of fire; and they also protect property as evidenced by this activation.

 

How is an NFPA 13D home fire sprinkler system integrated into a well water supply system?

Opponents of home fire sprinkler systems often cite extremely high costs associated with integrating NFPA 13D home fire sprinklers into a well water supply system. The following will explain how this is accomplished in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Well systems incorporating fire sprinklers at the start of the building process are set up to address this fire protection application. Water sits in three areas in a well-fed system: in the well above the pump, refilling into the well as it is used, and in the holding tank in the home. Per NFPA 13D the refill rate can be counted on to help supply part of the demand, thus, the duration demand of 7 or 10 minutes can be met by the sum of these three sources.

A larger well pump is usually installed along with larger expansion tanks. Homes on well water most likely will need a pump to serve the domestic water supply. The cost associated with providing additional pressure to run the fire sprinkler system may simply be the difference between the regular pump the homeowner must install to obtain the necessary pressure for domestic use, and a higher flow pump, or a booster pump and tank. The expansion tanks are sized to pick up the difference between the well capacity and demand thus they are not necessarily as large as some would believe.

Stand alone tank systems are similar to the pressurized tank systems in that they can be set up to provide for the difference in supply as opposed to total demand. In this case, a separate pump is required. It has the benefit of not being used for anything but the fire demand, so the system is never
compromised.

Stand-by power is not required by code, but many manufacturers build their systems with battery back-up as a standard feature.  

According to one of the manufacturers consulted on this technical issue, they “sell systems every day to meet the varying demands of the marketplace. Every situation is not the same but we have yet to find a scenario which cannot be addressed technically or cost effectively.”

Read the Integration of Residential Sprinklers with Water Supply Systems report for additional information.

Read the September issue of NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative newsletter

California is one of two states to mandate fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes. Early on in the process, the Office of the State Fire Marshal brought together stakeholders in order to ease the implementation of the requirement. A task force was created comprising members of the fire service, building and public health officials, water purveyors, as well as state and national organizations. The September issue of NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative newsletter offers up the comprehensive report issued by the task force that includes valuable recommendations that other states and municipalities can take to heart.

We also feature video of a Massachusets family whose new home includes sprinklers, which offer them peace of mind because twin sons live with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy and would have difficulty escaping a fire.

Subscribe today to automatically receive our monthly Fire Sprinkler Initiative newsletter. It's free, informative, and will keep you up to date on anti-sprinkler legislation, our advocacy efforts, and other sprinkler-related news.

Single fire sprinkler averts tragedy in New Jersey

Tri-Town News reports that a kitchen grease fire was extinguished by a single fire sprinkler, averting a “more significant and damaging fire.” The fire occurred in the early afternoon of Aug. 29 at the Windsor Crescent Apartments in Jackson, N.J.

NFPA statistics reveal that cooking equipment is the leading cause of home structure fires and associated civilian injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths. During 2005-2009, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 155,400 residential structure fires involving cooking equipment per year. These fires caused an annual average of 390 civilian deaths, 4,800 civilian injuries, and $771 million in direct property damage.

This fire caused minimal damage to the area of origin. Building maintenance personnel assisted the occupants with minor clean up and they were able to continue to live in the apartment. No one was injured according to the report. 

According to the article Jackson Fire Bureau Fire Prevention Specialist Wally Jamison said that if fire sprinklers had not been present, eight families would have been displaced. He added; “This fire is now added to the considerable nationwide evidence that fire sprinklers do save lives and property.”

Legislative session opens with anti-fire sprinkler bill in SD

The 2013 legislative session has started and Senate Bill 93 has been filed in South Dakota to prohibit fire sprinkler requirements in single family homes.

In the past four years sprinkler opponents have pushed state legislation that would restrict a community’s ability to make its own decision about model safety codes for new construction. The legislation would prevent communities from implementing any new sprinkler mandates in one- and two-family homes. If it becomes law, such legislation will put lives at risk.

While in the past the opposition has gone on record to offer its arguments during hearings, the trend now is to handle it through “back door” maneuvers out of the sunshine. It has been found that long before hearings are held, legislator’s minds are made up. Just because the opposition may have become less visible does not mean that its efforts have declined.

It's time for home fire sprinkler advocates to start "walking the halls" to educate legislators. Arm yourself with statistics, including victim patterns and the latest  research/reports to debunk the opponents’ arguments and provide policy-makers with the facts. Look around our website and obtain the resources needed to engage your legislators.

Chances of having a fire at home: A few facts

Have you ever wondered what your personal risk of fire is over your lifetime? This and many other examples of fire statistics at the individual or household level are presented as a collection of conversation-starters in a short report.

Chances are that you will have a home fire in your lifetime. In fact, the chances of having a fire large enough to be reported to the fire department are 1 in 4.

Here are some other statistics included in the report:

• Number of home fires your household can expect in an average lifetime: 5
• Chances that someone in your household will suffer a fire injury in an average lifetime: 1 in 10
• Chances that someone in your household will suffer an injury in a reported fire in an average lifetime: 1 in 89

What if you knew that fire sprinkler systems, required in all model codes for new one- and two-family homes could wipe out your chances of suffering a fire injury in our lifetime?

Learn more about home fire and home fire sprinklers

Bruce Willis made a sprinkler go off with a lighter!?

The following post orignially appeared on the Gold Seal Homes blog. As owner of Gold Seal Homes, Murray Pound dictates that 100 percent of his homes be outfitted with fire sprinklers.

Everyone has seen the part of the Die Hard movie where John McLean uses a plastic lighter to set off a sprinkler system in a building to evade capture from the bad guys?  I am often asked; ‘Can this really happen in a home with a residential style sprinkler system’?

Thanks to Hollywood, most people believe that you could activate every sprinkler in an office building by pulling a fire alarm switch, shooting one sprinkler head or holding a cigarette lighter up to one sprinkler head. Fortunately, that is not how automatic fire sprinklers work. While it is possible to activate ONE sprinkler head with a cigarette lighter, the sparks from a sword fight will not turn the parking garage at Madison Square Garden into a flood zone!

Read the entire blog post.

New Report: “Fire Loss in the United States”

This new report by NFPA's Michael Karter, Jr. contains an overview of the 2011 U.S. fire experience and provides critical information. It is one of the most important tools to advocate for home fire sprinklers.

U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,389,500 fires. These fires resulted in 3,005 civilian fire fatalities, 17,500 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $11,659,000,000 in direct property loss. There was a civilian fire death every 208 minutes and a civilian fire injury every 30 minutes in 2011. Home fires caused 2,520, or 84%, of the civilian fire deaths.

Read the report

Sprinkler task force highlights teamwork, stakeholder education in California

California is one of two states to mandate fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes. Early on in the process, the Office of the State Fire Marshal set out to bring stakeholders together in order to ease the implementation of the requirement. Part of the process involved the creation of the CAL FIRE Residential Fire Sprinkler/Water Purveyor Task Force.

In addition to the participation of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, other members of the task force included members of the California fire service, building industry, building officials,water Purveyors, American Water Works Association (AWWA), public health officials, state agencies, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) and the League of California Cities.

Obtaining buy-in from water purveyors is a critical step in the home fire sprinkler requirement progression. Citing how “diverse groups and professionals with a universal interest of public protection will work together on common goals,” the Office of the State Fire Marshal, under the leadership of then Acting Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover, facilitated the work of the task force and published a published a final report documenting the work and issuing sound recommendations “essential to the successful understanding of the statewide residential fire sprinkler adoption movement within the California Building Standards and will be used as part of that decision making process.” Chief Hoover has since been appointed CAlifornia State Fire Marshal

Chief Hoover's leadership and the work of the CAL FIRE task force is truly a case study in how successful collaboration with major stakeholders is the key to successful implementation of the home fire sprinkler requirement. It is a model to be emulated.

Read the report.