Life Safety Initiative 15

LSI # 15 Advocacy must be strengthened for the enforcement of codes and the installation of home fire sprinklers.

Fire service professionals have always been advocates for home fire sprinklers. They know all too well, the dangers posed to human life from fire, in buildings not protected by them.  They also know that fires in the home pose one of the biggest threats to people living in their community, where most of us feel the safest but where we are actually at highest risk of injury or death from fire. Fire sprinkler systems respond quickly and effectively to control the presence of a nearby fire and chances of surviving a fire in your home increase by eighty-three (83) percent if one is present. Sprinkler systems reduce the levels of heat, flame, toxic smoke and gases produced by a fire and buy precious time for building occupants to escape. There is also a reduced risk to firefighters due to the imminent threat of collapse while searching for occupants or attempting to suppress the fire.

Unfortunately, home builders don’t champion the same ideas as fire professionals. They argue that the costs to install a home fire sprinkler system makes home buying for most families cost prohibitive. This is somewhat of a myth, since studies conducted indicate that the cost of installing the sprinkler system during new construction averages less than two (2) dollars a square foot. To put this into perspective, many homeowners pay similar amounts for carpet upgrades, paving stone driveways, or a whirlpool bath.

Another hurdle faced by fire professionals, is that of sprinkler opponents lobbying state lawmakers to prohibit local communities from adopting model safety code provisions for fire sprinklers. This does several things to undermine the efforts of local fire service professionals in protecting both their community and the firefighters who serve the community. Among these are the weakening of public safety, ignoring the proven impact of home fire sprinklers, taking  away each jurisdiction’s right to decide on critical safety code provisions, establishing a precedent putting politics above proven safety technology, and the disregard of  a long established consensus code process. Members of the fire service and other safety advocates are in a unique position to influence the legislative process as leaders in the community. They can speak to the death and destruction they see every day caused by home fires and how home fire sprinklers can help reduce these painful losses.

Sprinklers do more than save lives. “Saving lives” means more than just preventing deaths. there is no other fire safety technology or program that produces as great a reduction in risk of death as sprinklers, In many situations, a family that survives a fire will also have a place to live and enough resources to continue living their lives as they did before. Advocacy begins with staying informed about the current environment surrounding the issue. Become aware of any recent code updates or changes, recent fires in your community that were neutralized by a successful sprinkler activation, or home fire deaths or injuries that could have been prevented by sprinklers. Coalition building must start with reaching out to other sprinkler advocates that represent a wide variety of groups including, but not limited to; other public safety entities, health-related groups, religious organizations, home-safety advocates, skilled trades, community service groups and friends or neighbors. Begin by showing the breadth of support for home fire sprinklers through as many avenues as possible. This can be done by sending letters or emails to elected officials or members of the media, gathering signatures on a petition to present to lawmakers, and encouraging advocates to attend public meetings to speak in favor of home fire sprinklers. By building a strong grassroots network of supporters, you can create a stronger voice that your local government will find difficult to ignore. Show support for your issue by developing effective public outreach.

The most important part of making sprinklers for new homes a reality will be convincing local elected officials that this is a life-and-death issue for their constituents.  Decision-makers, especially legislators, must be convinced that sprinklers are a life-saving fire suppression tool that not only reduce the number of deaths, injuries, and destruction associated with home fires, but also alleviate stress on local fire departments, conserve water, and provide added economic benefits for home owners.

Jerry Doyle

Fire Chief / EMC

City of Lockhart Fire Rescue

512-398-2321

jdoyle@lockhart-tx.org