Residential Fire Sprinklers .com

Protecting Your Home & Family

Home fire protection doesn’t have to be just about dry fire codes and statistics.

Just take a look at how the Fresno, CA Fire Department has taken a humorous approach to communicate the very real benefits of residential fire sprinklers.

 
TORONTO, Jan. 17 /CNW/ – Over the past decade, 874 Ontarians lost their lives in residential fires. Many of these deaths could have been prevented had automatic sprinklers been installed in the homes.

“These tragedies are made all the worse by the fact that many of the victims are children who are twice as likely as any other age group to be injured or killed in a residential fire,” said Richard Boyes, President of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC), at a news conference today.

A recent study by the National Fire Protection Association in the U.S. found that sprinklers in residential properties reduce fire fatalities by at least 57 per cent.

This week, Premier Dalton McGuinty acknowledged that Ontario is “laggard” in that it is the only jurisdiction in North America that does not require sprinkler systems in residential high-rise buildings. He indicated that his government would be considering various options, including requiring sprinkler
systems in new buildings three storeys and higher.

“This is an important first step and we commend the McGuinty government for moving forward,” said Boyes who is also the Oakville Fire Chief. “As a next step, we’d like to see sprinklers being made mandatory in all new residential units including single-family dwellings, townhouses, and low-rise
buildings.”

Scottsdale, Arizona, and Vancouver, B.C, both require all new residential units to have sprinkler systems. Since the regulations in each jurisdiction came into effect – 22 years ago in Scottsdale and 18 years ago in Vancouver – not a single fire fatality has occurred in homes with sprinkler systems.

“We would like to see Ontario be a leader as well, and achieve a similar safety record,” said Fire Chief Boyes.
Structural fires in Ontario also cause some $347 million in property damage each year, and sprinklers can have a significant impact on lowering these costs.

In Scottsdale, for example, the average fire damage in homes with sprinklers has been about $2,000 compared with $45,000 in homes without sprinklers. The Vancouver experience has been similar. The average loss in homes with sprinklers has been about $1,000 compared with $14,000 in homes
without sprinklers.

OAFC is advocating the use of automatic sprinklers together with smoke alarms in residential buildings. “The smoke alarm provides an early warning and the sprinkler system works to suppress the flames in the critical minutes before rescue and fire fighting efforts can get underway,” explained Toronto Fire Chief William Stewart.

“Those opposed to mandating sprinklers say they’re concerned about the costs and the impact on the prices of new homes. But the same was said about seat belts and air bags in motor vehicles, and today these devices are recognized as essential life-saving equipment that no one would do without,”
noted Fire Chief Boyes.

OAFC is a non-profit organization that serves and represents senior fire service managers from the 487 fire departments across the province of Ontario. These Chief Officers lead 29,735 fire fighters – 10,600 full-time, 19,000 volunteer and 135 part-time fire fighters. It is the Fire Chiefs who are
responsible for the protection of public safety through the delivery of fire, emergency, rescue, fire protection and public education services.

To read the full article click here.

On March 28, 2008, the United States Fire Administration (USFA) office delivered a potentially fatal blow to opponents of residential fire sprinkler requirements. For those not familiar with the USFA, it is an entity of the US Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In other words, this is the highest government agency in the United States focused on reducing life and economic losses due to fire.

The USFA released a five minute video presentation where US Fire Administrator, Gregory Cade, presented USFA’s official position on residential fire sprinklers and the reasoning behind this historic decision. Press the play button below to watch this video.

(If you are unable to view the video, you can read the .pdf version here USFA Official Position Document)

Updated September 21, 2008

The proposed code changes to the International Residential Code have been approved.

Click here for the article “ICC Approves Residential Fire Sprinklers in the International Residential Code”

So what impact does this have on residential fire sprinkler requirements? Well, immediately it has little significant impact since the USFA does not directly control the building and fire codes. But, the USFA is a highly visible federal entity that works through research, data gathering and public education to influence the building and fire codes used in the United States.

The USFA’s public support of residential fire sprinklers adds a shot of adrenaline to the movement for mandated residential fire sprinklers. Public education on the benefits of residential fire sprinklers will increase and fire service professionals will have a new wave of energy to publicly voice their support.

For many, this official position signals that it is an inevitable reality that residential fire sprinklers will be required in all new home construction in the United States. Others are patiently waiting on the sidelines to see how those opposing residential fire sprinkler requirements will react.

At the center of this intensifying debate are the proposed code changes to the International Residential Code (IRC) which, if passed, will mandate residential fire sprinklers in all new home construction. The IRC is part of the International Building Code (IBC), that is widely adopted as law throughout the United States.

The next revision of the IRC will be published in 2009 and all proposed changes must receive final approval at the September 2008 hearing to be included in this next revision.

A special coalition has been formed with a primary mission to get the votes necessary to pass code changes to the IRC that will require residential fire sprinklers with a zero square foot tolerance. This IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition is formed as a non-profit organization and provides the many supporters of home fire sprinkler requirements an opportunity to support their voting government officials to ensure these code changes are approved.

Support includes both encouraging voting government officials to vote “yes” on the codes changes and fundraising to cover travel expenses that will be incurred for voting government officials to be present at the September hearing.

The primary opposition has been the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which views residential fire sprinkler requirements as unnecessary and too expensive for the benefits they provide; their argument that smoke alarms are sufficient for home fire safety has been countered with firm opposition from the fire prevention and fire fighting communities.

You can bet that with the USFA’s official position now made public, the debate of residential fire sprinklers will continue to heat up leading to the September 2008 hearings.