Below is my email to Calli Schmidt of the National Association of Home
Builders in response to her organizations drive against residential fire
sprinklers:
BEGINNING OF MESSAGE
Calli,
One of my Brothers mentioned yesterday that he had read that the NAHB
opposed residential fire sprinklers because "it cost too much". Let me
ask you this question, so what price do you put on human life? It has
been shown time and again that not only do residential fire sprinklers
work but they work even more effectively when paired with combination
smoke alarms.
Given the typical residential fire call which happens in the middle of
night, not everyone will hear the smoke alarm go off. It could be a
quick fire that causes a heavy smoke condition before the alarm goes
off. It could be a natural gas leak that has caused an explosion. Did
you know that a fire doubles in size every 30 seconds? Now given the
night time fire, if everyone is asleep, who is going to call 911 and let
us know that there is a fire at the residence? It has also been shown
that the water spray from fire sprinklers will not only knock the fire
down if not darken it completely but will knock a high percentage of the
toxic smoke out of the air as well. Did you know that it's the smoke
that kills most of the victims and not the flames? Did you know that the
leading killer is Carbon Monoxide (CO)? Did you know that simple fabrics
in your home produce the highly toxic Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) gas, wool,
cotton, etc. which is more than 30 times toxic than CO?
Yes, I do have fire sprinklers in my home to protect my family and it
did not cost the $15,000 that the NAHB claimed that it would cost to do
it. Shame on the NAHB for scaring homeowners from something that does
means the difference between life and death. Maybe if you went on the
runs that we do where we get to pull the body of a young child out who
is severely burned and then dies in your arms before you can get the
child to the ambulance, you might just see the truth.
END OF MESSAGE
I find it hard to understand how shortsighted people are when it comes
to fire safety. I have heard it so many times "I didn't think it could
happen to us" right after we knocked the fire down. Fires happen to
every socio-economic group in the world. Some are better prepared by
having fire insurance protecting their valuables but the best insurance
are residential fire sprinklers and combination smoke alarms,
photoelectric and ionization. Property can be replaced, human life can
not be.
Every 90 seconds a home fire is re****ted in the United States. According
to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), eight out of 10 fire
fatalities occur where Americans feel safest -- in their own homes.
Fire-escape plans, fire drills and working smoke alarms are vital safety
precautions to help ensure families escape from a burning home before
they are injured or even killed. In fact, a smoke alarm can decrease the
chance of dying in a home fire by nearly 50 percent.
And when used together with a residential fire sprinkler system, the
risk of dying in a home fire is reduced by 82 percent. Not only do they
save more lives, fire sprinkler systems -- unlike smoke alarms -- can
actually control a fire and reduce the average property loss by as much
as two-thirds.
The Lie:
http://www.nahb.org/search.aspx?txtkeyword=Fire+Sprinklers&x=0&y=0
The Truth:
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/sprinklers/
http://www.firesafehome.org/sprinklers/firesprinklers.asp
http://www.nfsa.org/info/residential/econsprinklers.pdf
http://www.nfsa.org/info/reducing.html
http://www.homefiresprinkler.org/
http://www.sprinklernet.org/
http://www.askthebuilder.com/034_Fire_Sprinklers_-_Small_but_Effective.shtml
http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/NIST_IR_7277.pdf
Here it is just a few hours have past since we lost nine of our Brothers
fighting the Red Devil in Charleston SC. Did you know that the store did
not have fire sprinklers? Did you know that a fire doubles in size every
30 seconds? I may repeated myself a few times in my message but it was
to drive home the point that, something we as firefighters know all to
well, that fire while an excellent tool is nothing to fool around with.
The NAHB made the claim that the cost of a residential fire sprinkler
system in a typical home is as much as $15,000 the true costs are closer
to less than $2,000 as put forward by NIST. Now, who would you believe?
A trade group with an agenda or a world renowned scientific organization
with no axe to grind or political agenda?
I can't strongly urge every Brother and Sister how reads this to contact
their local news media as well as the AHJ for building codes in their
communities to push for mandatory residential fire sprinklers.
If you don't care or feel that it's a hopeless case and then move on to
the next posting, please read the entire NIST on the subject.
Residential fire sprinklers not only save lives but significantly cut
down on the damage caused by the fire and smoke as well.
--
Jeffrey S Austin FF CFR-D
Chesapeake VA
"I fight what you fear, the Red Devil."
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