NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 24

ADVOCACY,
Outreach by Lorraine Carli
Action Now
THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARD IMPROVING HOME FIRE SAFETY WILL
REQUIRE RESOLVE AND URGENCY. WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?
T
his year marks the 25th
anniversary of the Home
Fire Sprinkler Coalition,
an organization devoted
to saving lives by educating
key audiences-including the fire
service, policymakers, builders, and the
public-about the benefits of home fire
sprinklers in new homes. It was created
when NFPA, along with the National Fire
Sprinkler Association and the American
Fire Sprinkler Association, joined forces
and messaging and grew to include other
organizations that shared the same
safety goals.
While the number of homes with
sprinklers has grown in the United
States over the past 25 years, the coalition's
efforts have also encountered
formidable opposition that has slowed
our progress. Annual home fire deaths
in the US have hovered around 3,000 for
many years now. We have reached a point
where the work remaining to reduce this
number is hard, but that doesn't mean
we stop or tell ourselves that the progress
we've made is good enough. Further progress requires
renewed resolve and the kind of urgency that existed when the
founding members of HFSC launched their efforts 25 years ago.
To move forward, we must sometimes look back. In the push
for more home fire sprinklers, it helps to look to 1973, when the
landmark " America Burning " report was published. Created by
a national commission that evaluated the country's fire problem,
the findings in " America Burning " included a call for
support to develop a sprinkler that would be acceptable to all
Americans for use in homes. Sprinklers had proved their worth
since the 1800s in industrial and commercial uses, and the
" America Burning " authors reasoned, correctly, that sprinklers
would make a significant difference if they could be installed
easily and affordably in homes. In 1975, NFPA issued NFPA
13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Oneand
Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes. Since
24 | NFPA JOURNAL * FALL 2021
We have reached a
point where the work
remaining is hard,
but that doesn't mean
we stop or that we
tell ourselves the
progress we've made
is good enough.
then, every report on fire safety in the US
has touted sprinklers as the proven way
to significantly reduce the nation's fire
problem, which occurs mainly in homes.
An important new report recently
released by NFPA reinforces the need
for home fire sprinklers and takes the
discussion one step further. " Fire Safety
in the United States Since 1980: Through
the Lens of the NFPA Fire & Life Safety
Ecosystem " (nfpa.org/fireprogress),
created with the same big-picture scope
as " America Burning, " underscores the
need to overcome sprinkler opposition
and do more with greater intensity
if we want to advance fire safety. The
report notes successes in reducing loss
in a number of occupancies, including
hospitals, office buildings, and apartment
buildings, but paints a more troubling
picture of the home fire problem. It does,
however, look at safety strategies used in
other occupancies-including technology,
codes and standards, enforcement, and
education-as ways to develop plans of
action to reduce home fires.
The facts are clear. Eighty percent of fire deaths happen in
homes. If you have a home fire today, you are more likely to die
in that fire than you were in 1980. Today's homes are built with
unprotected lightweight construction, have open floor plans,
and are filled with furniture made with highly combustible
synthetic materials. If fire strikes, it spreads fast, making escape
nearly impossible after a few short minutes. If you have sprinklers,
your risk of dying in a home fire decreases by 80 percent.
Operating smoke alarms further improve your chance of escape.
Reports like " America Burning " and " Fire Safety in the
US " are necessary for illuminating problems and identifying
solutions. What is more important is to heed their recommendations
so that the next report can trumpet the results of our
action rather than telling us again what needs to be done.
LORRAINE CARLI is vice president of Outreach and Advocacy for NFPA.
LEGISLATION,
AND PUBLIC
EDUCATION
MICHAEL HOEWELER
http://www.nfpa.org/fireprogress
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021

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