The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) announced they will award C$500 stipends to 20 qualifying Canadian fire departments that demonstrate a plan to share the importance of home fire sprinklers with their community during Home Fire Sprinkler Week (HFSW), which runs from May 16-22. Only departments that are part of HFSC’s BUILT FOR LIFE program are eligible to receive the stipend. The application link is available here, and the deadline is March 31. Additionally, the deadline for the $300 stipends to American fire departments has been extended to March 10. That application link is available here. Some options for outreach programs to qualify for the stipend include, but are not limited to, conducting a virtual Home Fire Sprinkler contest, producing a banner or canopy tent to display Home Fire Sprinkler graphics, setting up a monitor in the community to play HSFC educational videos, or building an NFPA 13D display to explain how a home fire sprinkler works. Additional ideas include boosting a Facebook post to reach a larger audience or conducting a virtual Home Fire Sprinkler contest and awarding prizes. Read the announcement here for more information. To learn more about home fire sprinklers and how to increase the number of homes being built with sprinklers in your community, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and the Fire Sprinkler Initiative.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal of Maryland released preliminary data from 2020 which showed 51 people died due to injuries sustained in fires last year, a record-low for the state. The previous low was 54 in 2012, and last year’s statistic represents a 22 percent decrease from the 65 deaths in 2019. “Residential sprinklers are in place here in Maryland; they aren’t going anywhere,” State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci said to The Garrett County Republican. “We’re saving lives, and they’re clearly making a difference.” Maryland requires a residential fire sprinkler in all new one- or two-family homes across the state. Despite the provision for sprinklers included in all building codes, Maryland and California are the only two states in the US that require residential fire sprinklers, along with Washington, DC and hundreds of local communities. The Maryland law was passed in 2012, and was recently strengthened by the passing of House Bill 823 and Senate Bill 746, which gave the Fire Marshal the ability to enforce the requirements. Maryland law also prohibits local governments from weakening the sprinkler requirement in their jurisdiction’s building codes. According to reports, another key factor in the decrease of the state’s fire deaths is a 2013 law that required replacing 10-year-old battery-only smoke alarms with alarms powered by a 10-year sealed battery. Most people are unaware that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years. By using long life battery smoke alarms, you greatly reduce missing or dead battery issues. Over the last 25 years, the average annual fire death total in the state was 71. Over the last 10 years, it has dropped to 64. Out of the 51 total fire deaths, 33 occurred in residential properties, a significant decrease from the 52 residential deaths in 2019. This is very good news for the state and another reminder of the life-saving capabilities of residential fire sprinklers and the positive impact they have for citizens and first responders. To learn more about home fire sprinklers and how to get them in your community, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and the Fire Sprinkler Initiative.

Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) announced they will award $300 stipends to 30 fire departments that demonstrate a plan to share the importance of home fire sprinklers with their community during Home Fire Sprinkler Week (HFSW). Only departments that are part of HFSC’s BUILT FOR LIFE program are eligible to receive the stipend. The application link is available here, and applications are open until March 1. Some options for outreach programs to qualify for the stipend include, but are not limited to, conducting a virtual Home Fire Sprinkler contest, producing a banner or canopy tent to display Home Fire Sprinkler graphics, setting up a monitor in the community to play HSFC educational videos, or building an NFPA 13D display to explain how a home fire sprinkler works. Fire departments that are unable to schedule an outreach event may still be eligible for the stipend. Materials are also available for free to assist departments with displays and demonstrations for the usefulness of home fire sprinklers. Read the announcement for more information. To learn more about home fire sprinklers and how to increase the number of homes being built with sprinklers in your community, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and the Fire Sprinkler Initiative

Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) announced that its annual Home Fire Sprinkler Week (HFSW) done in collaboration with the NFPA Fire Sprinkler Initiative will take place May 16-22. Recognizing its 25th anniversary, HSFC is expanding its reach with new ideas and tools that further the life-saving educational messages of home fire sprinklers. HFSW highlights include a digital campaign to educate younger homebuyers on the importance and need for home fire sprinklers, a video to emphasize the positive environmental impact of home fire sprinklers, and daily educational themes and graphics to be shared on social media. HFSC is also planning on releasing a new virtual reality resource to help people personally understand how fire and deadly smoke quickly spread and allow them to experience the power of home fire sprinklers up close. Another addition to Home Fire Sprinkler Week is a stipend program, which will award local fire departments dedicated to home fire sprinkler education with money to use on socially-distanced community outreach programs, including construction of a to-scale NFPA 13D riser. Read the announcement for more information and plan your local activities to support this week. To learn more about home fire sprinklers and how to increase the number of homes being built with sprinklers in your community, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and the Fire Sprinkler Initiative.

For years NFPA and fire and life safety advocates have refuted erroneous myths and battled pushback to increasing the use of home fire sprinklers in new one and two family homes despite the inclusion of this provision in all building codes for more than a decade. One of those myths - that new homes don’t burn - proved disastrously wrong when one person in a newly constructed home lost his life in January to a fast moving fire in Massachusetts. Based on the real estate listing, the home was built in 2019. According to news accounts, the fire service was unable to reach the man as the fire was well underway when they arrived. Unfortunately, this scenario matches the facts and research. Today’s homes burn hotter and faster because of unprotected lightweight construction and modern furnishings. While in decades past you may have had about seven to eight minutes to escape a home fire, now you may have as little as two minutes to get out. Smoke alarms are essential in providing early warning to occupants but should be combined with home fire sprinklers to keep fires small and give people time to escape. NFPA research shows that the risk of dying in a reported home fire is about 80 percent lower where sprinklers are present. The local fire chief was quoted in a press release following the event saying, “Despite the best efforts of our Public Safety Dispatch system and our fire department, the fire consumed the contents and spread throughout the structure within minutes,” explained Natick Fire Chief Michael Lentini. “These tragedies shouldn’t happen in new homes in our quaint community or anywhere in our Commonwealth. We know that fire sprinklers buy time for the occupants to escape and for fire departments to arrive. I hope this tragic event can bring decision-makers together to increase education and awareness of the danger of fire.” Massachusetts has omitted the home fire sprinkler provision from its building code and not acted on a bill that has been repeatedly filed that would allow local communities to enact requirements on sprinklers. Massachusetts Residential Fire Sprinkler Coalition Chair and Retired Fire Chief Paul Zbikowski was quoted in the same press release saying, “We constantly ask ourselves how we can reach the public so that they understand how quickly fires occur with today’s modern furnishings. Everyone says that new homes won’t burn. Well, this is an example that that is simply not true. We must re-evaluate our Massachusetts Code and not remove the provision that can address this threat straight on. We are essentially building sub-standard homes when we leave this life safety feature out.” It is heartbreaking to see this type of story when we have the knowledge and means to better protect citizens and first responders from fire. Massachusetts should join other states and jurisdictions that have required all new one and two family homes to be built with home fire sprinklers. Learn more at the NFPA Fire Sprinkler Initiative.  Photo: NBCBoston.com

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) rang in 2021 by reminding their audiences across America, including state and local departments, of the importance of home fire sprinklers. USFA issued a training bulletin about the positive effects of residential fire sprinklers back in 2018, but updated it with the new year to remind fire departments about why they should advocate for home fire sprinklers in local fire and building codes. The bulletin notes that residential fire sprinklers are required in one- and two-family homes under NFPA 1, Fire Code, and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code®, as well as the International Residential Code (IRC). In addition to making homes safer, sprinklers keep firefighters safe and reduce the number of civilian deaths and injuries sustained in fires, and by reducing the number of home fires, fewer firefighters are exposed to dangerous chemicals that cause cancer. Home fire sprinklers also decrease the burden on the city’s water supply, since the sprinklers help extinguish fires faster and prevent them from spreading to sizes where significantly more water is needed to put them out. The bulletin also pointed out how sprinklers help the environment through the reduction of negative effects caused by large house fires. Home sprinklers also reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills after a fire and cut down on the damage caused by home fires, leading to beneficial environmental effects. They lower the amount of carbon monoxide and smoke that enters the atmosphere, and  cut down on the number of contaminants that enter the ground and seep into the water supply as well. Home fire sprinklers can also benefit to local builders and developers. Local authorities can work with builders and developers on trade-offs such as allowing  houses to be set further from the street and further from fire hydrants if the homes are sprinklered or reducing. permit, impact, and standard water connection fees lower real estate taxes. Check out the bulletin here to read all about the benefits, and look here to see the USFA stance on residential fire sprinklers. To learn more about home fire sprinklers and how to  increase the number of homes being built with sprinklers in  your community, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and the Fire Sprinkler Initiative.