Fire Sprinkler Initiative Update - Bringing Safety Home
May 2009

Fire sprinklers save lives and NFPA is committed to doing all we can to bring this higher level of safety home.

Home fire sprinklers cut the risk of dying in a home fire by about 80%. Sprinkler advocates across the country have asked for a coordinated effort to encourage the use of home fire sprinklers. NFPA has launched that effort through the Fire Sprinkler Initiative: Bringing Safety Home.

The initiative includes a variety of proven, effective ways that home fire sprinkler advocates can communicate the impact of sprinklers. Fire Sprinkler Initiative Update will provide the latest happenings each month.

Our Web site provides resources for the fire service and other sprinkler advocates who want to demonstrate the need for home fire sprinklers in their communities.


>> GET INVOLVED
Sign up to learn more about how you can save lives in your community by encouraging your local government to mandate home fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes.


BLOG
See videos made by fire victim advocates Common Voices.


>> LEGISLATIVE ALERT!
New legislation is threatening the adoption of home fire sprinkler provisions for new one- and two-family dwellings. Help stop these efforts in your community.

 

Fire Organizations Stand Together

firemenRecently, several major fire service organizations stood together to speak out in support of home fire sprinklers. An alarming 90% of residential fireground firefighter deaths occur in one- and two-family homes. This is a statistic we can no longer ignore. Recent anti-sprinkler legislation in states across the country has reiterated the importance of educating the public about sprinkler mandates and codes. These leading fire service organizations all support and advocate the inclusion of home fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family construction. In fact, all model safety codes now call for home fire sprinklers to be installed in this type of new construction. These codes, developed by qualified safety officials, are designed to save lives.

To read more about the organizations that support home fire sprinklers, please read the press release. To learn more about home fire sprinklers, please visit our website.

BLOG
Sprinkler Costs
Opponents often say that sprinklers are “just too expensive.” But studies show they are very affordable and pay off in ways that go beyond safety.

In addition to saving lives, sprinklers can pay off in other ways. Home fire sprinklers can:

• Reduce property loss in the event of fire
• Cut homeowner insurance premiums
• Help qualify a home for a tax rebate
• Conserve water
• Enhance firefighter safety

To read more about the cost-effectiveness of home fire sprinklers, visit Maria Figueroa’s post at the Fire Sprinkler Initiative Blog.

FORUM
NEW!! Discussion Forum
Launching In addition to the Fire Sprinkler Initiative blog, we are pleased to launch the Fire Sprinkler Initiative discussion forum. This discussion forum has been set up to encourage dialogue among fire sprinkler advocates across the country. With anti-sprinkler legislation cropping up across the nation, it is now more important than ever for advocates to trade best practices on how they defeated legislation in their own states with others who face the same struggle, as well as discuss how to introduce sprinkler requirements to their communities. We look forward to the engaging discussions and advice on fire sprinkler advocacy that are to come!

Please register to become a member of the forum.

ADVOCACY
Long Grove Family Knows the Success of Home Sprinklers
Since 1988, the Chicago suburb of Long Grove has provided its residents with added protection by requiring all new homes to be equipped with home fire sprinklers. Long Grove was one of the first municipalities in the area to adopt a home sprinkler ordinance. Ten years later, Lisa Bailey and her family experienced the importance of that ordinance firsthand. Ms. Bailey was working in her home office in Long Grove in when she heard the smoke alarm sound in her son’s room. Her son and friends were playing in the basement at the time…

To find out how home fire sprinklers saved the Bailey family and for additional advocacy information, visit www.firesprinklerinitiative.org.

Questions? Contact us: firesprinklerinitiative@nfpa.org