More Protection Needed from Household Fires

Fewer than 3% of American homes adequately protected with fire sprinklers

The first patented fire sprinkler system was created more than 125 years ago in 1874. Ironically, it was not used to save human lives but, rather, to protect materials and inventory at a piano manufacturing company.

Property protection remained the sole purpose for sprinkler systems for nearly seven decades. Today, we know better—at least a little. Beginning in the late 1940s after a series of several high-profile fires resulted in large losses of life, sprinkler systems were first considered for saving lives.

They still, however, are more commonly found in non-residential structures, despite the fact that one and two-family dwellings account for the vast majority of deaths and injuries. A whopping 73 percent of all fires occur in one- and two-family dwellings, along with 78 percent of related deaths, 67 percent of injuries, and 76 percent of dollar loss (according to statistics released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency).

These same statistics confirm that cooking is the leading cause of fires and injuries in the home, although smoking is the leading cause of death (followed closely by arson). Heating is the second leading cause of fires, just slightly behind cooking.

The incidence of residential fires remains relatively constant throughout the year but rises slightly in the winter months. Fire-related deaths are the most frequent during the winter months when heating systems add to other causes. Approximately 40 percent of these deaths occur between December and February.

Although fire incidents drop when people sleep, deaths are at their highest late at night and in the early morning. Peak hours for fire-related deaths are between 2:00 and 5:00AM when people are in their deepest phases of sleep. It comes as no surprise that the death rate is highest among the elderly and very young children, in addition to people with physical disabilities.

Although fire-related deaths in this country have been decreasing in recent years (thanks to better technologies and consumer education), the U.S. fire problem remains one of the worst in the industrial world on a per capita basis. Thousands of Americans die each year, tens of thousands of people are injured, and property losses reach billions of dollars. In fact, the total cost of fires in this country is more than the total of nearly every other natural disaster combined!

On the positive side, reports show that more than 90 percent of American households now have at least one working smoke alarm. Yet, approximately less than three percent of homes in the U.S. have fire sprinkler systems, despite the fact that sprinklers have proven to be the most effective means for surviving a household fire because they actually help to extinguish the fire rather than simply notify homeowners that a fire exists.

Legislators have very recently begun to actively respond to the problem. Today, most cities mandate sprinklers in a number of residential applications, including college dorms and high-rise apartments. Yet, single-family homes still remain largely unprotected.

According to The American Fire Sprinkler Association, just over 200 U.S. communities have residential sprinkler laws. Roughly 100 of these communities, however, are located in the state of California. That leaves only 100 communities throughout the rest of the country with requirements for residential fire sprinkler systems.

In some other areas, fire officials are using incentives to get sprinklers installed in their jurisdictions. There are two types of incentives. One is economic, such as low-interest loans. The other is design alternatives (also known as tradeoffs). In either case, the purpose is to reduce the net cost of installing sprinklers.As an example, a developer might be able to install smaller water mains and fewer hydrants if fire sprinklers are in place. Such cost reductions have proven effective in catching the attention and interest of some larger developers.

Increased education efforts are also underway. Within the past few years, fire protection organizations have teamed up with fire departments, the homebuilding industry and even manufacturers in an effort to educate homeowners on the need for greater protection in the home.

As people are getting smarter about how and where to use fire sprinkler systems, they are also becoming more knowledgeable about the materials they choose for their fire protection needs. At one time there were few choices when it came to fire sprinkler systems. But technology has changed that. BlazeMaster® CPVC fire sprinkler systems, for example, are made from chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), a high-temperature, specialty material for use in fire sprinkler pipe and fittings. Compared to metal, BlazeMaster CPVC systems offer long-term reliability, because they are immune to the effects of pitting and corrosion.

Approved for more applications than any other non-metallic fire sprinkler system, BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems perform when it counts most–under fire conditions—and they’ve been doing so for more than 20 years in the field. Lightweight, easy to install and more economical than metallic systems, BlazeMaster CPVC fire sprinkler systems are quickly becoming the product of choice for safety-conscious homeowners.