Residential Fire Sprinklers .com

Protecting Your Home & Family

This was an interesting question that I asked myself before the inclusion of the residential sprinkler requirements in the last remaining model code to accept them for one and two family homes and townhouses.

During the period in time where the International Building Code and International Residential Code (IBC/IRC) committee’s were reviewing code change proposals for this inclusion and subsequently during the committee’s refusals to accept numerous proposals to include them; I was approached by one of our fire suppression personnel who learned that a new Habitat home was being planned in our jurisdiction.

The firefighter informed me of the project and presented me with information on a physical limitation one of the family’s children had. He asked if I thought we could get sprinklers donated. This is what started the research process into the feasibility of the project.

The greatest road block to my surprise was the historic stance the National organization had in not recommending Residential Fire Sprinklers for their projects but historically leaving it up to regional groups and local affiliates to decide. The question that kept coming up was why?

Apparently the greatest concerns were; a perceived lack in ability for homeowners to maintain such a complex system like sprinklers, the potentials for water damage and the potential liability for a non-maintained system and failure to operate.

Seizing the opportunity to provide public education; the local affiliate here in our county was contacted to discuss and address some of the concerns that existed about Residential Fire Sprinklers. I met with the affiliate’s General Contractor and we had a pleasant discussion about the common myths associated to Residential Fire Sprinklers and the ease in maintenance. He suggested that the local Board of Directors for Habitat be contacted to present them with the information we had discussed during our meeting and possibly provide them with materials to explain Residential Fire Sprinklers.

Naturally, as things work out the meeting was scheduled during the ICC Final Action Hearing where the vote for Residential Fire Sprinklers was going to take place. I sought assistance from our Building Official who was willing to take the roll on and to discuss this with the Habitat Board and show them a presentation on Residential Fire Sprinklers. The meeting was a success and the local affiliate was receptive and voted unanimously to having a system donated for this project.

The work now began to find contractors and resources where we could get the materials and installation donated. Various fire protection firms were contacted as we discussed the proposal and details about the Habitat project with them. I received commitments from three companies who all agreed to donate the entire design, materials, installation and labor for the home.

I was now faced with multiple companies who wanted to get involved and a new question; would the project need one contractor or multiple? After contacting each of them back and graciously thanking each for their willingness to assist, I notified them that I decided to go with a single source for our ease and needs in consistency in plan review, inspection and final testing.

The first company to commit was chosen and in an effort to not alienate the other two companies; I asked each of them if they would be interested in getting involved in the future for other local Habitat projects if the affiliate wanted to do more being that this would be their first sprinkled home in our region, in turn both agreed.

The Habitat’s affiliate General Contractor was notified of the company chosen and they began the preparation work for the sprinkler company’s needs to design the system and establish work schedules for their installation. The sprinkler company and the Habitat contractor began to discuss the schedule and other details while we stayed involved to help with the various processes.

This personal touch also assured and reinforced the Habitat Board’s desire that we would be assuring full code compliance in the process. The local Water Department was contacted as we sought relief from tapping and metering fees associated to residential construction and they agreed to assist, which made the entire process work much smoother. We were also able to get an exterior and interior alarm donated that went above the minimum standard requirement in NFPA 13D.

Once the plan review, installation’s rough-in and final acceptance testing were completed and the system was approved, there was a presentation service held to give the home to the family. The fire department was asked to attend and during the ceremony. I was asked by the affiliate Habitat Board to explain the sprinkler system donation process to the guests in attendance. I seized this platform to provide some additional public education to the dignitaries in attendance and afterwards I privately asked the family if I could stay after the ceremony to provide some additional training and operational procedures on the sprinkler system to them. Some of the dignitaries wanted to learn more also, so I figured the more the merrier.

The entire process worked out so well that I honestly believe the additional personal touches, willingness to provide additional education and the development of partnerships allowed us to successfully get the sprinkler system installed. The regional Habitat organization has since agreed to install Residential Fire Sprinklers in all their future home projects.

Habitat homes are typically donated to disadvantaged socioeconomic populations that are directly related to our mission in public education related to fire prevention. We were extremely pleased that the our regional affiliate for Habitat allowed us to assist them with installing residential sprinklers and we look forward to working with them in the future.

So, should we promote the sprinkling of Habitat Homes?

Fire Marshal Paul Dove has been employed by the City of Coldwater Michigan, Fire Department for 14 years and has served 24 years in the professional fire service. He was formerly employed by the Lake Park Fire Department (Palm Beach County Fire Rescue) in Palm Beach County, Florida as a Firefighter, Inspector, Investigator and Officer. He is a past president of the Michigan Fire Inspector’s Society and served as Code Committee Chairmen for ten years. He is currently serving a second term on the Michigan Fire Inspector’s Society Executive Board. He is a former principle member of the NFPA Life Safety Code and Building Code Technical Committee on Fire Protection Features and former member of the NFPA North Central Region Fire Code Development Committee. He is currently an instructor for the NFPA Fire Inspector and Plan Review Certification programs and the State of Michigan Inspector, Plan Review and Firefighter I-II Certification programs. He has conducted fire cause and origin investigations as lead investigator with associated partnerships in arson investigations for over 700 incidents involving fire and explosion for commercial, residential, industrial and vehicle property. He is a court qualified expert witness. During his career he was awarded with the LPFD Combat Cross for Bravery (1992), Rookie Firefighter of the Year (1986) and was awarded the Michigan Fire Inspector of the Year (2001).

By Robert Behre – The Post and Courier

Normally, it wouldn’t be considered a good thing to have several fire trucks, fire marshals and code inspectors parked in your driveway.

But in the case of the new 3,500-square-foot home under construction on Rice Pond Road in West Ashley, looks can deceive.

That’s because the gathering was planned by businessman Charles Stewart.

As head of Homesafe Fire Protection, Stewart wants to make a point, to educate Charleston officials and others about the first residential sprinkler system he has installed in the city.

“I really believe in another six to eight years, you’re not going to be able to buy a house without it,” he says.

What makes this system unique is not the technology, which has been around for years. Instead, it’s the price, about $2 per square foot, or about $7,000 in this home.

Unlike other systems that required a separate set of pipes and a backflow preventer and other costly add-ons, this system can be hooked up to a home’s regular plumbing, and that lowers the cost.

Code requires sprinkler systems for large apartment buildings and condominiums but not for single-family homes and duplexes.

Asked about the percentage of Charleston single-family homes that currently have a sprinkler system,

Charleston Chief Building Official Thomas Scholtens says it’s “very, very, very low.”

Admittedly, Stewart has a financial interest in promoting the new technology, but he also feels he has a higher calling.

Four out of every five fire deaths occur in homes, and they claimed the lives of 2,580 people in 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stewart notes a 1997 Scottsdale, Ariz., study found that 90 percent of the time, only one or two sprinkler heads were needed to put out a fire. They used about 300 gallons of water, compared with about 3,000 gallons of water that are sprayed inside a home if the Fire Department arrives.

The average damage from a home fire with a sprinkler system was less than $2,000, compared with $17,067 in homes without.

Scholtens notes that sprinkler systems can buy critical time to get family members out and will slow one of the greatest fire hazards: Toxic air caused when heat cooks out poisonous gases from a home’s building material.

“Well before you burn, you’re dead on the floor because of the gases,” he says.

Some might fear a system will go off accidentally, soaking furniture, carpets and other stuff, but Stewart notes that the sprinkler head’s cover doesn’t detach until it reaches a temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit, and it doesn’t begin to spray until it reaches 155 degrees.

Stewart walked around the framed home with almost two dozen firefighters, code inspectors and other officials to show off the loops of piping leading to more than a dozen sprinkler heads.

Last year’s meeting of national building code officials in Minneapolis voted to require sprinkler systems in new homes, but Scholtens notes it will take years before that code takes effect, and some interests are expected to fight it by arguing that it would make new homes too expensive.

That’s why Stewart hopes to convince people that these systems are a good idea, even if they’re not required by law. As the cost drops, that will be an easier sell.

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Citing the fact that more than 90 percent of fireground firefighter deaths occur in one- and two-family homes, leading fire service organizations warned against state-by-state legislative efforts, orchestrated by homebuilders, which are designed to prohibit communities from requiring residential fire sprinklers in new home construction. Fire service groups are reiterating their strong support for sprinklers in the wake of several legislative attempts across the country.

“Anti-sprinkler proponents are attempting to deny local jurisdictions the right to decide on critical safety code provisions and if successful, they will put firefighters and the public at risk,” said International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) President Chief Larry J. Grorud, CFO, MIFireE. “These anti-sprinkler bills will set a dangerous precedent.” Chief Grorud said there are now bills in approximately 15 states that ignore the well established, life-safety benefit of sprinklers and if passed, will take away a real opportunity to enhance public and firefighter safety.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), approximately 80 percent of all fires occur in homes, but when home fire sprinklers are present the chances of dying in a home fire decrease by about 80 percent. NFPA has no record of a multiple fatality fire in a sprinklered building where the system operated. All model safety codes now call for the installation of residential sprinklers in new home construction.

“Now is not the time to backslide on fire and life safety. It is important to move this technology forward with the adoption of sprinkler provisions from the model codes into state and local codes in order to bring this added level of safety to all citizens,” said Georgia State Fire Marshal Alan R. Shuman, president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM).

“We see the devastating consequences of home fires every day, and we know sprinklers save lives,” International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) General President Harold A. Schaitberger said. “These misguided legislative efforts will make it harder to keep people safe, protect their property, and will jeopardize the lives of firefighters.”

“Home fire sprinklers provide an added level of safety because they control heat, smoke and flames allowing occupants time to escape and giving firefighters a safer environment,” said National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “The NVFC’s state association members have been fighting and will continue to push back against attempts to restrict fire sprinkler installation in new residential construction.”

Roughly 90 percent of the time, fires are contained by the operation of just one sprinkler. When sprinklers are not present, the fire can burn for minutes, raging out of control, filling the home with toxic smoke and resulting in far greater losses. A recent NFPA report states that sprinklers reduce the average property loss by 71 percent per fire.

Anyone interested in public safety and learning more about home fire sprinklers can visit www.firesprinklerinitiative.org

By Scott Simianer, City Building Inspector

The City of Hot Springs is a governmental member of the International Code Council (ICC) and utilizes the building codes published by the ICC, as does the State of South Dakota and 47 other states. California and Wisconsin do not currently use this code.

The City currently utilizes the 2003 Editions of the residential and commercial building codes (IRC & IBC) and is expected to update to the current edition early in 2009.

On Sept. 21, 73 percent of the voting members of the ICC voted to support two code proposals requiring fire sprinklers in one and two-family dwellings and townhouses covered by the IRC. The first proposal added the requirement for fire sprinklers in townhouses that fall within the scope of the IRC beginning in 2009, the second added the requirement for one- and two-family dwellings effective January 1, 2011.

The primary function of any fire sprinkler system is fire containment, to keep the fire from spreading. Through suppression and containment there is less smoke and fewer toxic gases, and thus fewer cases of smoke inhalation. Fire victims succumb to smoke and heat first; it is then that they are taken by the fire.

The effectiveness of fire sprinkler systems is proven and isn’t even arguable. So why not have fire sprinklers in residential dwellings? The cost?

Residential fire sprinkler requirements will be less stringent than in commercial or public applications, and there is typically far less space to be protected, so the costs of residential fire sprinkler systems are not expected to be overly expensive, especially when they become more commonplace.

Residential systems will not be required to be engineered. The code will supply charts for most given applications including sprinkler flows, square footage requirements and placement.

The cost of a residential fire sprinkler system is expected to be about $1.60 per square foot in a new home. By comparison, carpeting will cost you that much or more per square foot, wood flooring could cost $3.50 sq/ft on up. Considering that most insurance companies offer discount incentives for fire protection, that square foot cost of increased fire protection could pay for itself in reduced insurance premiums.

One common misconception about fire sprinklers is that if one goes off, they all go off. That is nothing other than Hollywood theatrics to make Arnold Schwarzenegger appear to be a crack shot, by triggering dozens of sprinklers with a single bullet. Fire sprinklers are heat activated. Should a fire spread, even while being engaged by a sprinkler, only the heat from the spreading fire would then activate an additional fire sprinkler, not all of them. Residential sprinkler systems are expected to be sized to operate two full-flow fire sprinklers.

Another misconception is the amount of water damage caused by fire sprinklers (again, thank you, Mr. Schwarzenegger). I would much rather have a single sprinkler containing a fire in my kitchen, using 18 gallons per minute (gpm) until the fire department arrives (in town) ten minutes after the alarm, or about 180 gallons of water. Compare that to a fire spreading from the kitchen stove, to the cabinets, to the ceiling and into the living room in that same ten minutes. Upon arrival, for fear of flash-over, the firemen will cool the fire first (about 200 gallons), and then suppress the kitchen and living room fire with an inch-and-a-half hose (175 gpm) for another ten minutes, or about 1,950 gallons of water. Scenarios will vary, but I believe you see the point I’m trying to make.

Alterations and home additions will not be affected by the new fire sprinkler requirement due to the possibilities of undersized existing water services. Only new construction will only be affected at this point.

I can foresee much discussion on the horizon regarding this new requirement, and my office will keep the community informed as to the direction this is going.

Good luck and good building.

By Gal Tziperman Lotan – Taunton Daily Gazette

It was a shock. But maybe it shouldn’t have been. Oudah Frawi and his two infant sons died last week when a fire gutted their basement apartment in Quincy. A month earlier, three Plymouth seniors died in two separate house fires, days apart.

The blazes raised many questions, including: If fire safety is so rigorously taught in schools and community centers, with laws requiring sprinklers and detectors, why do more than 3,000 people die annually in residential fires?

“On some level, we’re victims of success,” said Lorraine Carli of the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy. “People aren’t as aware of fires, and not as many people feel like ‘that could happen to me.’”

And yet it’s happening more. Residential fires rose 11 percent statewide in 2007, according to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System. And the six South Shore fire fatalities in a month illustrate that the situation isn’t getting any better.

“It is very important that people still be very much aware of that fact, and aware that the vast majority of home fires can be prevented,” Carli said.

And more importantly, experts say, is that deaths in house fires can be prevented. Senior citizens are particularly vulnerable, Deputy Fire Chief William Carrico of Duxbury said. Those aged 65 to 74 are twice as likely to die in a fire as the general population, and people 85 and older are more than five times as likely to die in a fire, the U.S. Fire Administration reports.

Carrico suggests that adult children conduct regular safety inspections in their parents’ homes, making sure that walkways are clear of tripping hazards and smoke detectors on every level are fully functional.

“There are a lot of smart people out there, regardless of how old they are,” he said. “We’re just reminding them of these safety issues.”

Fire officials said parents must pay special attention to young children. Practice is key so that kids, who might hesitate because they are too scared or confused to move, know what to do if an alarm sounds.

Children who learn how the alarm works, by participating in regular fire drills or pressing the button triggering the alarm themselves, will function better in case of a fire, Carrico said.

“A lot of kids are afraid of smoke detectors,” Carrico said. “When it goes off they cover their ears and start screaming because they don’t understand it’s an important tool.”

Fire safety experts stress making sure safeguards, like detectors and sprinklers, are working. The Plymouth home of Eduardo and Maria Rosa Tavares, who died Feb. 12, did not have working smoke detectors. Frawi’s apartment also didn’t have smoke detectors, and the building’s central fire alarm system was turned off and silent.

It’s imperative the whole family has, and knows, an escape plan – including charting two ways out of every room. When they see smoke or flames, residents should quickly leave the house, then call 911, said Jennifer Mieth, state Department of Fire Services spokeswoman.

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