20 May Fire Sprinklers Make a Difference in Home Fires
It’s Home Fire Sprinkler Week and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have joined forces to promote home fire sprinklers. This annual event raises awareness about the growing dangers of home fires and the life-saving benefits of installing fire sprinklers in new homes. The HFSC and the NFPA are working hard to debunk myths, help consumers learn the facts before they build or buy a new home, and urge local officials to support sprinkler codes.
Here are a few home fire sprinkler facts:
- Modern home fire sprinklers are inexpensive to install ($1.35 per sprinklered sq. ft., nationally – NFPA).
- Home fire sprinklers give residents more time to escape a fire safely. That prevents injuries and saves lives.
- Home fire sprinklers operate individually. In a fire, the sprinkler closest to it activates. In the vast majority of home fires, just one sprinkler is needed to control the flames.
- Sprinklers are activated by the high temperature of a fire – typically between 135-165°F. Cooking fumes or signaling smoke alarms cannot activate sprinklers.
- Home fire sprinklers are designed to flow between 10-25 gallons of water per minute, 10-15 times less water flow than fire department hoses, with far less pressure.
Check out this video illustrating two very different home fire scenarios. See the tremendous difference home fire sprinklers make in the progression of a fire.
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