Pelham Fire Department

Home Fire Sprinklers

As fire safety educators, we do our best to educate Town of Pelham residents about ways to prevent fires in our community. But as we all know, the highest level of vigilance regarding home fire safety may not be enough. According to the latest statistics from the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there were an estimated 399,000 reported home structure fires in the United States in 2007, resulting in almost 2,900 civilian deaths. In Ontario that same year there were 6487 residential fires with 6 deaths.

Working smoke alarms and fire escape planning and practice are integral to keeping our families safe, but there is another element that you may want to add to your safety system - home fire sprinklers. In less time than it typically takes the fire department to arrive on the scene, properly-installed sprinklers can contain and even extinguish a home fire. That not only reduces property damage, it saves lives.

Because fire sprinkler systems react so quickly, they can dramatically reduce the heat, flames and smoke produced in a fire. Fire sprinklers have been around for more than a century, protecting commercial and industrial properties and public buildings, such as hotels, hospitals and high-rises. What most people don't realize is that the same lifesaving technology that protects these buildings is also available for homes, where 80 percent of all fire deaths occur. When sprinklers are present, the chances of dying in a reported fire in your home decrease by 80%.

Sprinklers can be installed by specially trained contractors. The best time to install sprinklers is when you are building a new home or remodeling an existing home. In one study, done on sprinkler installation in North American homes, installing sprinklers in a new construction costs on average $1.61 per sprinklered square foot. Installing sprinklers during remodeling, known as "retrofitting," generally costs more and the cost depends on the existing structure. Many insurance companies offer a range of discounts for homeowners with sprinkler systems, making comparison shopping worthwhile.

Unfortunately, there are many stubborn misconceptions about home fire sprinklers that make some homeowners reluctant to install sprinklers in their homes. These are the facts:

• It is extremely rare for sprinklers to operate accidentally. In a typical home, water damage will be considerably less from unwanted sprinkler discharges than from other plumbing mishaps.
• Cigar smoke and burned toast cannot cause a sprinkler to operate. Only the high temperature that results from a fire will activate the sprinkler.
• All the sprinklers do not activate at once. This scenario may be common in movies and TV shows, but it just isn't true for residential fire sprinkler systems. Only the sprinkler closest to the fire activates. Ninety percent of the time, one sprinkler contains the fire.

In Ontario, legislators recognize the effectiveness of sprinklers and as a result, the Building Code will be amended as per 2010 to make sprinkler installation in multi residential buildings over three stories tall mandatory. Home fire sprinklers give you added protection from fire and peace of mind. Ask your builder about installing sprinklers in your home. More information on home fire sprinklers can be found from the National Fire Protection Association at www.firesprinklerinitiative.org and from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition at www.homefiresprinkler.org