How to Give Your Family a Fighting Chance Against a Household Fire
Fire Protection More Affordable & Reliable Today
On an average day, four children will die from fire in this country. In total, fire will claim the lives of nearly 5,000 people per year and injure another 28,000, according to the National Fire Protection Association. In addition, the cost of related property damage will exceed $8 billion in any given year.
But there is an effective, proven solution. Current industry reports show that the installation of a home fire sprinkler system can prevent as much as 97 percent of the property damage and loss of life.
One system in particular, called BlazeMaster, has been shown to be especially effective. Approved for more applications than any other non-metallic fire sprinkler system, it performs when it counts most-under fire conditions.
Why are sprinklers so effective? Mainly because they do not rely on human factors such as a quick, calm response and a familiarity with proper escape procedures. They operate automatically and immediately in the area of fire origin to help prevent the fast developing fires of intense heat and smoke which are capable of trapping and killing occupants.
Is there a problem with sprinklers discharging accidentally? Loss records of Factory Mutual Research indicate that the probability of a sprinkler discharging accidentally is 1 in 16,000,000. And despite current misconceptions, cigarette smoke will not cause a fire sprinkler system to go off. It is only when the heat of a fire raises the sprinkler temperature to its operating point of 165°F (approx.) that the sprinkler will engage.
Can sprinklers cause more property damage than the fire itself? Automatic fire sprinklers are individually heat-activated and tied into a network of piping with water under pressure. As a result, sprinklers spray water only in the immediate area of the fire-usually with only one sprinkler operating. The amount of water used by a fire department to extinguish a fire in an unsprinklered building is nearly always tens to hundreds of times more than what would be discharged by a home sprinkler system.
What about problems with smoke? As a by-product of fire, smoke causes more fatalities than the fire itself. A minimal amount of smoke is produced as sprinklers extinguish the fire, but the amount is considerably less than what is produced by an unsprinklered fire that is permitted to grow.
Are sprinkler systems ugly? Sprinklers today are often concealed behind ceilings, out of sight until needed. If they are seen, they are available in a range of colors and can be mounted flush with walls and ceilings to blend into the room.
Are sprinklers expensive? For the amount of money it would cost to upgrade your carpeting or cabinets, you could protect your family and possibly your home and its contents from a fire. In new construction, the cost to install a home fire sprinkler system is usually 1-1.5 percent of the total building cost.
Are all sprinkler systems the same? Once upon a time, there were few choices when it came to selecting a fire sprinkler system. Technology has changed that. BlazeMaster® fire sprinkler systems, for example, are made from chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), a revolutionary, high-temperature specialty material for use in fire sprinkler pipe and fittings. Compared to traditional metallic systems, BlazeMaster CPVC systems offer long-term reliability. Immune to the effects of pitting and corrosion, they not only have proven to perform when needed during their 40+ year history in the field, but also minimize the likelihood of costly damage from corroded, leaking pipes.
Lightweight, easy to install, and less expensive than most metallic systems, BlazeMaster CPVC fire sprinkler systems are quickly becoming the product of choice for safety-conscious homeowners and landlords.