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Automatic Fire Sprinklers: The Facts
09/06/10
Automatic fire sprinklers have been in use in the U.S. since 1874.
Fire sprinklers are widely recognized as the single most effective method for
fighting the spread of fires in their early stages - before they can cause severe
injury to people and damage to property.
When one fire sprinkler head goes off to fight a fire the entire sprinkler
system does NOT activate. Sprinklers react to temperatures in individual rooms.
The chances of a fire sprinkler accidentally going off are extremely remote.
Installation of fire sprinklers can provide discounts on insurance premiums.
The costs for installing fire sprinkler systems in buildings 6 to 8 stories
high ranges from under a dollar to about $2.00 per square foot in most new construction
and from about $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot for retrofitting sprinklers in
existing buildings.
The installation of fire sprinklers in new residential construction is estimated
to make up around 1% of the total building cost. (Similar to the cost of new
carpet)
Over 200 U.S. communities have residential sprinkler laws. Roughly 100 of these
communities are in California. In downtown Fresno for example, there has been
fire damage of only $42,000 during a 10-year period in which its sprinklering
law has been in effect.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, property damage in hotel
fires was 78% less in structures with sprinklers than it was in structures without
sprinklers during the years 1983-87. (Average loss per fire was $2,300 in sprinklered
buildings and $10,300 in unsprinklered buildings.)
Nearly half of all hotels and motels, according to a 1988 survey by NFPA, have
sprinkler systems.
NFPA has no record of a fire killing more than two people in a completely sprinklered
building where the system was properly operating, except in an explosion or
flash fire or where industrial fire brigade members or employees were killed
during fire suppression operations.
Conclusion
The National Fire Protection Association outlines several major strategies that
are key to reductions in fire losses and especially in home fire deaths, which
are 78.3% of the total fire deaths. They are:
* More, and more widespread, public fire safety education on how to prevent
fires and how to avoid serious injury or death if fire occurs.
* Residential fire safety initiatives remain the key to reductions in the overall
fire death toll.
* Wider use and proper maintenance of smoke detectors, coupled with practiced
home escape plans.
* Wider use of residential sprinklers.
* Additional efforts to make home products more fire-safe, such as less fire-prone
cigarettes and child-resistant lighters.
* Addressing the special protection needs of high-risk groups, such as the young,
older adults and the poor.
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