NFPA Journal - October 2016 Home Fire Sprinkler Special Issue - 49

FEATURE
THE FIRE SERVICE AND HOME FIRE SPRINKLERS

are responsible for an estimated 65
percent reduction in firefighter fireground injuries. Indeed, when arriving
at a fire in a commercial building or
warehouse, the first question asked by
firefighters is, "Does the structure have
a sprinkler system?" That, said Ennis,
makes a huge difference in response
tactics.
Likewise, home sprinklers are
extremely effective in extinguishing
fires in an early stage, Batten said.
Repairing the damage to a house
where a sprinkler system has activated
will be far less expensive than repairing
the damage from a fire and from the
water used by firefighters to extinguish
the blaze, he said.

California, became the first community in the nation to require sprinklers
in homes. In January 2011, California
became the first U.S. state to mandate
the installation of sprinklers in all new
one- and twofamily dwellings. Maryland
passed a similar
sprinkler requirement. Many local
municipalities
around the country now mandate
the installation of
sprinklers in new
one- and twofamily homes.
"We said over
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
and over that the
That's why Batten, Ennis, and many
whole intent of
others in the fire service advocate for
the adoption of
requiring home fire sprinklers in the
the code was life
construction of all new one- and twosafety," Tonya
family homes, including the adoption
Hoover, the
of NFPA 13D, Installation of Sprinkler
former California State Fire Marshal,
Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings
told NFPA Journal in 2014. "It had
and Manufactured Homes. The intention
nothing to do with property protecof NFPA 13D is to provide home occution-this was a life-safety initiative
pants with a 10-minute escape time. "I
wholeheartedly."
think since it is the built environment
Fierce opposition by developthat created the problem, it should be
ers and the National Association of
the built environment that addresses
Home Builders, which contend that
the problem," Ennis said. According
increased cost of construction from
to NFPA statistics, sprinklers reduce
mandated sprinklers will discourcivilian fire deaths by 80 percent, while
age home buying, has limited more
reducing civilian fire injury medical
widespread passage of codes based on
costs by 53 percent.
NFPA 13D. But NFPA research shows
In 1979, the city of San Clemente,
that a sprinkler system adds an average
of $1.35 per sprinklered
square foot to the cost of
construction-hardly an
insurmountable barrier.
Tim Travers, a regional
minutes
minutes
sprinkler specialist with
Typical estimated
Estimated
NFPA, estimated the cost
time it took a
time a home
of a home sprinkler system
home fire to
fire can
to be somewhere between
reach flashover a
reach flash1 and 1.5 percent of the
few decades ago
over today
total cost of a house. Some
firefighters compare the

2-3

cost of adding home fire sprinklers to
that of choosing granite countertops
for a kitchen. Peg Paul of the HFSC
notes that those costs can also be offset
by savings, as sprinklers can decrease
the cost of homeowners insurance by 5
percent to 15 percent
depending on the
insurer.
Additionally, fire
departments are ready
to grant zoning or
code variances, such
as narrower streets or
denser construction,
if builders agree to
install sprinklers in
new developments.
Scottsdale, Arizona,
which has had a
sprinkler ordinance
in place since 1986,
allows for reduced
fire hydrant spacing
requirements because of the presence
of home fire sprinklers.
"There's a realization that we have
to partner with the homebuilders and
water purveyors and other stakeholders who are interested in the building
and sale of new homes," said Ennis.
Most important, he said, "we have
to find a way to bring down the cost
of sprinkler systems for the building
industry and consumers."
Travers compared builders' opposition to home fire sprinklers to
opposition decades ago to smoke
alarms-life-safety devices that are
now routinely used in homes as well as
apartments and commercial properties. Someday, many in the fire service
hope, home fire sprinklers will be
embraced as completely as smoke
alarms have been: as essential tools
to protect people against the threat of
home fires.

"Fire prevention
has taken a back
seat - that's the
way the country
evolved. Home
fire sprinklers are
not yet embedded
in firefighters'
minds."

Stephanie Schorow is a writer based
in Boston.

OCTOBER 2016 NFPA JOURNAL

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - October 2016 Home Fire Sprinkler Special Issue