-
Fire
sprinkler systems are widely recognized as the
single most effective method
for fighting the spread of fires in their
early stages - before they can cause severe injury
to people and damage to property.
-
When
one fire sprinkler head goes off to fight a fire,
the entire sprinkler system does NOT activate.
Sprinklers react to temperatures in individual
rooms. The chances of a fire sprinkler
accidentally going off are extremely remote.
-
Installation of fire sprinklers
can
provide discounts on insurance premiums.
-
The
installation of fire sprinklers in new residential
construction is estimated to make up around 1% of
the total building cost. (Similar to the cost of
new carpet.)
-
Smoke detectors
provide a warning only and
can
do nothing to help extinguish a fire
or protect those who are physically unable to
escape without assistance.
-
Too
often smoke detectors fail because the batteries
are dead or have been removed.
-
Over
200 U.S. communities have residential sprinkler
laws. Roughly 100 of these communities are in
California. In downtown Fresno for example, there
has been
fire damage of only $42,000 during a 10-year
period in which its
sprinklering law
has been in effect.
-
According to the National Fire Protection
Association, property
damage
in hotel fires was 78% less
in structures
with
sprinklers
than it was in structures without sprinklers
during the years 1983-87. (Average loss per fire
was $2,300 in sprinklered buildings and $10,300 in
unsprinklered buildings.)
-
Nearly
half of all hotels and motels, according to a 1988
survey by NFPA, have sprinkler systems.
-
NFPA
has
no
record of a fire killing
more than two people in a completely sprinklered
building
where the system was properly operating, except in
an explosion or flash fire or where industrial
fire brigade members or employees were killed
during fire suppression operations.
-
Water damage
from a sprinkler system
is
much less severe
than the water damage caused by fire hoses, or by
smoke and fire damage if the fire is not
controlled.
