Fire kills more people in the United States annually than all natural disasters combined. Most fires occur in the place we feel safest-our homes. Today’s homes have furnishings made from plastics, foam rubber, and laminates. When these things catch fire, they quickly produce intense heat and thick toxic smoke and fuel the rapid spread of fire. In a home fire today, you may only have 1-3 minutes to escape. Is that enough for your family in the middle of the night when most fatal fires occur?
Why do Today’s Homes Need Fire Sprinklers?
Smoke alarms provide early warning, but home fire sprinklers start to control the fire. That gives people more time to escape safely. Home fire sprinklers work fast, and time is critical during a fire. Residential sprinklers are designed for life safety rather than property protection. Sprinklers put out 90% of home fires before the fire department arrives on scene. This prevents the fire from spreading to other areas of the home, reduces damage and protects people from harm.
Learn More about Fire Sprinklers
Here are some helpful links to resources, information and organizations to learn more about home fire sprinklers.
- The Benefits of Home Fire Sprinklers. An informational brochure from the Massachusetts Fire Sprinkler Coalition explaining fire sprinkler protection for Massachusetts homes.
- The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition offers educational material with details about installed home fire sprinkler systems, how they work and why they provide affordable protection.
- Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition’s dramatic timeline shows the difference in a fire’s progression in a home with home fire sprinklers and one without.
- National Fire Sprinkler Association works to promote home fire sprinklers.
- Home Fire Sprinklers: Separating Fact from Fiction – a fact sheet from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition about the myths and the truth about home fire sprinklers.
- Watch this great PSA from Fresno, CA Fire Department on why sprinklers are like having a firefighter in every room, only better!
- National Fire Protection Association’s Fire Sprinkler initiative
- NFPA's Home Fire Sprinkler page
Educational Tools Available to Fire Departments
Side-by-Side Sprinkler Demonstration Trailer. The Department of Fire Services has a Side-by-Side Sprinkler Demonstration Trailer that was donated by the National Fire Sprinkler Association. This prop gives fire departments a dramatic teaching tool that demonstrates how sprinklers save time, and time buys lives in a fire. The mobile unit has two identical rooms that are set on fire. One room has a sprinkler, and one does not. During the fire, observers see how quickly fire spreads and how little time there is to escape a fire. After viewing this demonstration, the public walks away recognizing that sprinklers buy time, and time buys lives.
Combination Sprinkler Demonstration Trailer and Fire Safety House. The Department of Fire Services has a combination fire safety house and sprinkler demonstration trailer that fire departments can borrow to teach fire safety.