Why do I Need Fire Sprinklers?

Could everyone in your family escape a fire if it happened in your home ?

Recently, we have been having too many discussions with our clients on why we need sprinklers in homes. I thought it would be a great blog topic.  So here are the facts per the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and why we need sprinklers today.

Fires today are faster and deadlier. A house fire can become deadly in less than two minutes. Why? Because most items in our homes are made of synthetic materials that burn quickly and produce deadly, poisonous smoke. There’s a danger associated with new construction homes built with unprotected, lightweight building materials that burn faster and fail more quickly in a fire, collapsing in less than half the time of older construction material. Large open layouts, as opposed to smaller rooms with closing doors, also enable faster flashover during a fire. 

A home fire occurs every 87 seconds, with 74% of all fire deaths occur in the home. Everyone is susceptible to these fires, but older adults and people with disabilities are at greatest risk. Recent trends in U.S. housing show that more homes are becoming multi-generational, with around 64 million people living together with two or more generations under one roof. And today 67% of households own a pet. Two minutes are simply not much time for everyone to escape a deadly fire.

Home fire sprinklers can contain and may even extinguish a fire in less time than it would take the fire department to arrive on the scene with only the sprinkler closest to the fire activated; spraying water directly on the fire. Ninety percent of home fires are contained by the operation of just one sprinkler.  Fire sprinklers are green. They reduce water usage, water runoff and toxins released by fire and use only a fraction of the water used by fire department hoses.   Installing both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers reduces the risk of death in a home fire by 82%, relative to having neither. 

Modern residential sprinklers are inconspicuous and can be mounted flush with walls or ceilings.  Home fire sprinklers are dependable. They not only save lives; they can also protect your property and possessions, and limit fire and water damage. Because of this added benefit, most insurers offer sprinkler discounts that lower your homeowners’ premiums.  Not only do sprinklers save lives, they save money. Nationally, on average, home fire sprinklers cost $1.35 per square foot of sprinklered space in new construction.

Learn the facts about home fire sprinklers from the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, which offers free information and resources about fire safety.  Go to: https://homefiresprinkler.org/fire-sprinkler-news/