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December 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 percent. 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.
Have yourself a safe, little holiday
 On a lighter but important note, read the new rendition of a holiday favorite submitted by Andrew Barr of the McKinney (TX) fire department.
>> GET INVOLVED
Learn how you can save lives in your community by encouraging your local government to mandate fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes.
>> 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
Podcast, report demonstrate sprinkler benefits
NFPA has released a new podcast and report to help advocates make the case for home fire sprinklers in their communities. The two-part podcast features Jamie Lyons, senior engineer at Newport Partners in Maryland and author of the Integration of Residential Sprinklers with Water Supply Systems. Jamie talks about how the research was conducted and the key findings from the report, which was released in late October. The study looked at detailed information for 20 US communities with a residential sprinkler ordinance and concluded that water supply integration requirements have been put into place, and there are no examples of insurmountable problems or issues. Neither design problems nor significant added costs were found in the communities surveyed.
NFPA endorses campaign urging residents to install smoke alarms and sprinklers
 With roughly 84 percent of civilian fire deaths occurring in homes, NFPA is endorsing U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA) Install. Inspect. Protect Campaign which urges residents to install smoke alarms and sprinklers.
USFA, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) campaign is designed to raise awareness about how working, properly installed smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers can lower a person's chances of dying in a fire.
"Smoke alarms are one of the greatest fire protection devices of our time and have significantly contributed to the decline in home fire fatalities since the late 70's," said NFPA President Jim Shannon. "But it's not enough to randomly put up one smoke alarm and forget about it.
In addition to placing smoke alarms in recommended areas, they must be kept in good working order, which includes testing them monthly, changing batteries at least once a year, and making sure that they are never disconnected." "In addition to smoke alarms, fire sprinklers can further reduce home fire deaths because it is simply not acceptable to say that roughly 3,000 deaths per year are okay when we know we can do better," added Shannon. If a there is a reported home fire, the risk of dying decreases by about 80 percent when sprinklers are present.
We can do better
A Mashpee (MA) family of five narrowly escaped a fire that ripped through their home on November 28, leaving them temporarily homeless. Thankfully, no one was injured. Others around the country were not so lucky. According to the U.S. Fire Administration's Quick Response Program, news media reported at least six people died in home fires in communities across the U.S. that same day. NFPA statistics show nearly 3,000 people a year die in home fires. "We can do better," says NFPA President Jim Shannon.
 BLOG
The facts about insurance and home fire sprinklers
Amending model safety codes by removing requirements for home fire sprinklers may create a negative financial impact on communities, fire departments, and homeowners. ISO, an independent statistical, rating, and advisory organization that serves the property/casualty insurance industry, has issued a fact sheet on its standard homeowner’s policy, which contains insurance premium credits for sprinkler installation and coverage for accidental discharge or overflow of water. But as NFPA's Maria Figueroa explains in her blog, this coverage may suffer if sprinkler requirements are removed by legislation or local ordinances. |
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