Fire sprinkler systems have been around for over 100 years protecting large commercial buildings such as schools and factories, their contents, and most importantly their occupants. Their track record of saving lives and property is outstanding.

Why protect homes with sprinklers?
Between 2003 and 2007, the following home fire averages were compiled by the National Fire Protection Association:

• Every 87 seconds in the U.S., a fire department responded to a fire in a home.
• Roughly 8 people died every day in a home fire.
• Over 13,000 people were injured in home fires during these four years.
• Annually, direct property damage from home fires averaged $6.4 billion.

What’s in it for the homeowner?
Smoke alarms and residential fire sprinklers work together to cut your risk of dying in a home fire by 82 percent. The smoke detector awakens your family to the presence of a fire so that you can begin to exit the home. The fire sprinkler system, operating one head at a time at the source of the fire, keeps the fire in check allowing additional precious time to evacuate. In fact, in 90 percent of fires in homes with sprinklers, it takes just one fire sprinkler head to control or extinguish a fire. Sprinklers can even help cut homeowner insurance premiums.

Residential fire sprinkler facts

• Less water damage - studies show that it takes more than 10 times the water to extinguish a fire with fire hoses compared to a sprinkler system.
• Sprinklers reduce the average property loss from fire by 71 percent.
• A recent Fire Protection Research Foundation report found that the cost of installing home fire sprinklers averages $1.61 per sprinklered square foot. Nationally, on average, home fire sprinkler systems add 1 to 1.5 percent of the total building cost in new construction.
• Each individual sprinkler is designed and calibrated to activate when it senses a significant heat change. They do not operate in response to smoke, burned toast, cooking vapors, steam, or an activating smoke alarm.

For more information, contact the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office at 564.397.2186 or your local fire department.

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Sprinkler Safety Fast Facts