— Keeping Your Community Safe with Home Fire Sprinklers —NFPA • 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169 • www.nfpa.org/education

Talking Points

Home fire sprinkler systems add value AccordingtoanationalHarrisPoll,two-thirds(69%)ofhomeownersintheU.S.sayhavingafiresprinklersystemincreasesahome’svalue. Increasingdemandforhomefiresprinklersisdrivingdownthecost.AnewstudybytheFireProtectionResearchFoundationfoundthatthecostofinstallinghomefiresprinklersaverages$1.61persprinkleredsquarefoot.Othernationalestimatesshowthat,conservatively,sprinklerinstallationis1%to1.5%ofthetotalbuildingcost.Inareaswhereinstallationsarecommonthecostiswellbelow$1persquarefoot. AcopyoftheFireProtectionResearchFoundationstudy,HomeFireSprinklerCostAssessment,isincludedonthisCD. Mostinsurancecompaniesprovidefinancialincentivestoencouragehomeownerstoprotecttheirhomesfromfire.Researchshowsthatfiresprinklersystemdiscountsrangefrom5%to30%offhomeownerpolicypremiums.Shoparoundforthebestdiscount.

Use these talking points as a guide to help you stay on message when talking with local media outlets and making presentations tocommunity groups.

Local code adoption of home fire sprinklers Installingfiresprinklersinhomesisquicklycatchingonincommunitiesofeverysize. JurisdictionsthroughoutthecountryareputtinginplacehomefiresprinklerrequirementsbyadoptinglocalordinancesormodelcodesincludingNFPA1,FireCode®;NFPA101,LifeSafetyCode®,NFPA5000®,BuildingConstruction&SafetyCode®andtheInternationalResidentialCode®(IRC).

Home fire sprinkler system design and installation TheHomeFireSprinklerCoalition(HFSC)recommendsselectingasprinklercontractorwithresidentialexperiencetoinstallahomesystem.Contractorsshouldfollownationalinstallationstandards,whichhelpensureproperoperation. NFPA13D,StandardfortheInstallationofSprinklerSystemsinOne-andTwo-FamilyDwellingsandManufacturedHomes,isthenationalstandardforhomefiresprinklersystems.NFPA13Disappropriateforone-andtwo-familystructuresandmanufacturedhomes. LocalcodeauthoritiesmayhavecertainrequirementsthatexceedordifferfromNFPA13D.

Home fire sprinklers save lives and protect property Properlyinstalledandmaintainedautomaticfiresprinklersystemshelpsavelives.Becausefiresprinklersystemsreactsoquickly,theycandramaticallyreducetheheat,flamesandsmokeproducedinafire,givingfamiliesvaluabletimetogetoutsafely. Firesprinklershavebeenaroundformorethanacentury,protectingcommercialandindustrialpropertiesandpublicbuildings,suchashotelsandhospitalsandhigh-rises.Whatmostpeopledon’trealizeisthatthesamelife-savingtechnologythatprotectsthesebuildingsisalsoavailableforhomes,where84%ofallU.S.firedeathsoccur.Fromfederalagenciestonationalsafetyorganizations,suchastheNationalFireProtectionAssociation(NFPA),sprinklersarerecommendedasthemosteffectivemeanstosubstantiallyreducethehomefireproblem. Homefiresprinklersystemsprotectresidents;theyalsoprotectrespondingfirefighters. Installinghomefiresprinklersystemshelpstheentirecommunityandprotectsthehomeswheretheyareinstalledforgenerationstocome.

Talking Points

— Keeping Your Community Safe with Home Fire Sprinklers —NFPA • 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169 • www.nfpa.org/education

Talking Points

Smoke,cookingvaporsorsteamcannotcauseasprinklertoactivate—firesprinklersactivateinresponsetothehightemperatureofafire.

Fire sprinklers are part of a total system of safety Firesprinklershavenoequal,butthebestprotectionfromhomefireisatotalsystemofsafety:earlywarning(smokealarms),suppression(firesprinklers)andpromptevacuation(practicedfiredrills). Onlyfiresprinklerscandetectthefireandautomaticallycontrolorextinguishit,pavingthewayforresidentstomakeasafeescape—andalsoprotectingpropertyandvaluables. Smokealarmsareessentialineveryhome.Buttheycanonlydetectafire;andtobeeffectiveresidentsmustbewillingandabletorespondquicklytothealarm. Thebestprotectionfromfireishavingbothsmokealarmsandafiresprinklersystem.

Refuting stubborn myths about fire sprinklers Sprinklermishapsaregenerallylesslikelyandlessseverethanconventionalhomeplumbingsystemproblems. Anuncontrolledfirewillcausefargreaterfiredestructionandsmoke/heatdamagethanwaterdamagefromanactivatedsprinkler. Fromthetimethefirestartsandisdiscovered,ittypicallytakesabout9-12minutesforthefiredepartmenttoarrive.Inthattime,anuncontrolledfirewillhavegrownandspreadthroughthehome,causingtremendoussmokeandfiredamagebeforethefiredepartmentcangetthere. Thehighheat,flamesandsmokerequireatremendousamountofwaterfromfiredepartmenthoses.FireDepartmenthoseshavemorethan10timesthewaterflowperminuteofsprinklers. Thepropertylossinasprinkleredhomefireistypicallyonlyafractionofthelossinanunsprinkleredhomefire.Ahomesprinklerflows10-26gallonsofwaterperminute,forapproximately10minutes(orlessifthefiredepartmentturnsthewateroffsooner).Whatwill10minutesofafirehoseproduce? Thenationalsprinklerinstallationstandardprovidesguidanceforproperinstallationincoldregions,includingappropriateadditionalinsulationandanti-freezeusage.Formoreinformationaboutthelife-savingbenefitsofhomefiresprinklers,visitwww.HomeFireSprinkler.org.NFPAisproudtobeafoundingsponsorofHFSC.

How home fire sprinklers work Firesprinklersprotectahome24hoursaday,automatically.Eachsprinklersystemisuniquetothehomewhereit’sinstalled. Mostfiresprinklersystemsoperateoffthehouseholdwatermain.Whereapublicwatersupplyisinadequateornotavailable,thesystemisfedbyapressurepumpandstoragetank.Anon-sitewellmayalsobedesignedtoprovideanadequatewatersupply. Firesprinklersarelinkedbyanetworkofpiping.Today,mosthomefiresprinklersystemsprimarilyuseaplasticpipeknownasCPVC.Justlikeplumbing,thepipingistypicallyhiddenbehindwallsandceilings.Inunfinishedbasements,youmaybeabletoseethepipingintheceiling. Thereareseveraltypesoffiresprinklersmadeforhomes:someareforinstallationonwallsandothersinceilings;someareconcealedbyaplate.Allhomefiresprinklersaremuchsmallerandlower-profilethanthetypesofsprinklersusedincommercialandindustrialproperties. Sprinklersoperateindividually,inresponsetothehightemperatureofafire. Eachfiresprinklerhasatemperature-sensitiveelement.Sprinklersflowonlywhenthetemperaturenearthesprinklerreaches135°F–165°F.Thewatersupplyisdesignedforatleasta10minuteduration—sufficienttimetooftenextinguishafireorkeepitcontrolleduntilthefiredepartmentarrives. Eachsprinklerisdesignedtooperateindependently—theentiresprinklersystemwillnotreleasewaterallatoncewhenafirestarts.

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