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Home Fire Sprinkler Systems
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Residential Fire Sprinklers Save Lives & Property
Residential fire sprinkler systems are the single most effective way to minimize a fire's impact on a home and its residents. It can contain and even extinguish a fire in less time than it takes firefighters to arrive on the scene. And, contrary to what many people think, home sprinklers are actually quite cost-effective, particularly when installed during new construction. They add, on average, only one to one and half percent to the total cost of building a new home. As people have become better informed about sprinklers' effectiveness, their use in homes has increased significantly. Swift Fire Protection, a Georgia based fire safety equipment dealer, reports that sales of residential fire sprinklers have increased for the last 5 years.
Cities that require residential sprinklers, such as Scottsdale, Arizona, have seen a dramatic drop in fire deaths and property damage. Scottsdale reports that fires in homes that had fire sprinkler systems suffered only about 10% as much damage as homes without fire sprinklers. The sprinkler system can also be tied into the central alarm network, which will alert the fire department if a sprinkler goes off.
In most of the Scottsdale cases, only one or two sprinkler heads activated during the fire. Home fire sprinklers are activated individually and only activate when necessary. Each fire sprinkler head has a glass bulb or fusible link that breaks or melts when the heat near the sprinkler head reaches it’s rated temperature. The temperature ratings range from 135 to 200+ degrees, depending on where it is used. Unlike the movies, each sprinkler is activated individually as needed, and activation of one fire sprinkler does not activate all the rest. If you have a fire in the kitchen and one of the fire sprinklers activate and extinguishes the fire, water will not be sprayed all over the home, but only in the kitchen. Yes the sprinkler in the kitchen will not stop spraying water until the water is shut off, but the water damage pales in comparison to the damage a fire will cause.
The most common argument against residential fire sprinklers is not how well they work, but how much they cost to install. The Fire Protection Research Foundation reports “the average cost of sprinkler systems to the homebuilder, in dollars per sprinklered SF, ranged from $0.38 to $3.66. This range represents the thirty different house plans, with the average cost being $1.61 per sprinklered SF. This figure includes all costs associated with the sprinkler system including design, installation, and other costs such as permits, additional equipment, increased tap and water meter fees – to the extent they apply”. Read more here.
Please Watch This Residential Fire Sprinkler Video
Residential fire sprinkler systems are the single most effective way to minimize a fire's impact on a home and its residents. It can contain and even extinguish a fire in less time than it takes firefighters to arrive on the scene. And, contrary to what many people think, home sprinklers are actually quite cost-effective, particularly when installed during new construction. They add, on average, only one to one and half percent to the total cost of building a new home. As people have become better informed about sprinklers' effectiveness, their use in homes has increased significantly. Swift Fire Protection, a Georgia based fire safety equipment dealer, reports that sales of residential fire sprinklers have increased for the last 5 years.