NFPA Journal - Spring 2024 - 50

Outreach by Lorraine Carli
ADVOCACY,
LEGISLATION,
AND PUBLIC
EDUCATION
Forward Progress
INCREASING AWARENESS ABOUT HOME FIRE SPRINKLERS IS HELPING TO
BUILD MOMENTUM FROM NATIONAL TO GRASSROOTS LEVELS
I
was at the Home Fire
Sprinkler Coalition
(HFSC) booth at a recent
conference when I met a
fire marshal from Florida.
He told me that he'd picked up the HFSC
brochure a few years before, and that
he'd used the information to require a
developer to include sprinklers in new
homes in exchange for allowing a single
entrance to the development. By equipping
the homes with an affordable,
effective means of fire protection-one
that dramatically reduces the fire risk for
residents and firefighters-the developer
was able to reduct costly infrastructure
associated with the project.
The fire marshal's story is one of many
This momentum is
encouraging, because
we all know the
indications that we're starting to see a
shift in momentum for home fire sprinklers.
More and more, we hear of fire
officials and authorities having jurisdiction
(AHJs) who are working with
developers, planners, and other stakeholders
to provide cost-saving trade ups or incentives when
the development is protected using HFSC's developer incentive
program. (It's up to AHJs to determine which incentives are
appropriate for their communities; while the single-entrance
development worked in the Florida example, it might not be
an option for communities with a high risk of wildfire.) This
is encouraging, because we all know the challenges that come
with raising awareness around the need for home fire sprinklers.
Fire safety advocates and fire departments must combat
persistent sprinkler myths with the facts about why fires in
unprotected homes become deadly so quickly, and how home
fire sprinklers work to save lives.
That's why the fire service is such a valuable ally in this work.
At that same conference, leaders of all the major fire service organizations
including NFPA participated in a " Fire Service One
Voice " panel where home fire sprinklers were a key point. Fire
Service One Voice is an effort led by the U.S. Fire Administration
to share the same messages about today's fire challenges and their
50 | NFPA JOURNAL * SPRING 2024
challenges that come
with trying to raise
awareness around
home fire sprinklers.
impact on the fire service, and the message
around sprinklers and home fires is clear.
Homes present the greatest fire risk to residents
and responding firefighters. Home
fires can become deadly in as little as two
minutes because of modern construction
methods, the use of synthetic materials
and furnishings, and emerging technologies
such as lithium-ion batteries. Home
fire sprinklers are the only proven technology
that can deploy immediately and stop a
fire from becoming deadly. Yet jurisdictions
are allowing substandard homes to be built
when they omit sprinklers from the code,
putting residents and firefighters at risk.
At the grassroots level, HFSC offers
local fire departments powerful support
through its Built for Life Fire Department
Program (BFLFD), which supports
department efforts to educate communities
about home fire sprinklers and to
achieve community risk reduction goals.
More than 3,600 fire departments nationwide
have pledged their involvement, with
program participation steadily increasing. HFSC's relationship
with these departments is collaborative; HFSC offers opportunities
including stipends to support grassroots programs and
community outreach, and participating departments share
success stories and provide feedback on new resources.
At this year's NFPA Conference & Expo®
(nfpa.org/conference),
I look forward to hosting a workshop featuring panelists from a
range of disciplines who will discuss proven strategies to increase
the number of homes built with sprinklers. They will highlight
successful approaches that kept sprinklers in the codes when
local codes were being updated and ensured that new ordinances
required sprinklers, and they will offer details and insights on
other scenarios involving developer incentives.
With your help, we'll soon see more homes nationwide with
fire sprinklers, protecting residents and firefighters. To learn
more about the HFSC, visit homefiresprinkler.org.
LORRAINE CARLI is vice president of Outreach and Advocacy for NFPA.
MICHAEL HOEWELER
http://www.nfpa.org/conference http://www.homefiresprinkler.org
NFPA Journal - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2024
