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July 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
Most firefighter injuries occur battling home fires.
>> 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.
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ADVOCACY
New study shows that sprinkler requirements are not detrimental to housing starts
A recently completed research report concluded that the presence of sprinkler ordinances has no negative impact on the number of homes being built. In fact, in the comparison of two sets of counties, the municipalities actually saw an increase in construction in the year after regulations became effective, compared to the adjacent counties without sprinkler ordinances.
 Conducted by Newport Partners, Comparative Analysis of Housing Cost and Supply Impacts of Sprinkler Ordinances at the Community Level compared residential construction in suburban Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties, Maryland, and Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia. Prince George’s County and Montgomery County have sprinkler requirements; Fairfax County and Anne Arundel County do not. The counties were selected based on their demographic matches to each other.
Newport Partner’s analysis was based on an extensive review of annual single-family building permits, the U.S. Census Bureau Surveys of Housing and Households, and analysis of local documents before and after sprinkler requirements were imposed. In addition, Newport conducted interviews with builders, trade association staff, and local government officials to provide insight into the housing landscape in these counties pre- and post-requirements. According to the report, “None of the statistical or interview information demonstrated that the requirements led to reduced housing supply.”
BLOG
Lightweight Construction in Newer Homes Hazardous to Firefighters
 This important issue is highlighted in two new Fire Sprinkler Initiative blog postings and the recent NFPA Journal cover story which warn of the dangers of new home construction.
In the first post Maria Figueroa talks about the new standard process used in constructing new homes. An article by Ozzie Mirkhah and David Comstock, Jr. for Fire Engineering, says that 65% of all new construction in the United States now uses lightweight wood trusses. These lighter weight trusses, though economical, can significantly weaken the structure in the event of a fire and put families and fire fighters at risk. Read her full blog entry here.
In the second post, Maria highlights the latest NFPA Journal cover story on lightweight construction. The article discusses how recent studies have shown that lightweight truss construction and engineered wood construction burn more quickly and fail faster than their dimensional lumber counterparts. Read the full blog entry here.
FORUM
NEW! Discussion Forum
In addition to visiting the Fire Sprinkler Initiative blog, we would like to encourage you to visit the Fire Sprinkler Initiative discussion forum,
as well. The forum is a place where we hope fire sprinkler advocates from across the county will come together to discuss ordinances and legislative activities in their area surrounding home fire sprinklers. Sign up and get the conversation going today!
Please register to become a member of the forum by clicking on the Get Involved button on the Fire Sprinkler Initiative Web site. |
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