Policy and Social Change for Healthier Designs in Building Sustainable Fire

Safe Homes

Princella Lee-Bridges, MSN, RNBridges From Augusta, Inc.

Tim TraversNFPA Regional Fire Sprinkler Specialist

Introduction

• The mission of NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), which was established in 1896, is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education

• Bridges From Augusta, Inc. assists individuals and families who have experienced burn injuries and trauma by providing education, empowerment and support while building community alliances.

Objectives

• To present the collective home safety design to include the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, and the residential fire sprinkler system.

• To empower participants with the knowledge that home fire sprinklers – the newest code of home safety – save lives, reduce injury, and protect property and the environment

FACTS about FIRE

Fire deaths and injuries in one and two-family

homes* (Percentage of All Residential Fires)

• Fire deaths: 84% • Fire injuries: 69% • Fire property damage: 83% • Fire ground firefighter deaths: 83%

* NFPA 2013

Present Codes and Standards

• Smoke Alarm – NFPA 72

National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code

• Carbon Monoxide Alarm – NFPA 720

Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and Warning Equipment

• Residential Fire Sprinklers – NFPA 13D

Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes

Policy Awareness

Smoke Alarms

• Smoke alarms have done a good job in reducing home fire deaths

• We’ve reached a plateau/maximum benefit• High risk groups need additional escape time

provided by fire sprinklers

Carbon Monoxide Alarm

• Often called the silent killer, carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely.

• Carbon monoxide (CO) detection and warning equipment intended to protect lives by warning occupants of the presence of CO in sufficient time to allow occupants to escape or take other appropriate action.

Residential Fire Sprinklers

A historical perspective:

• 1975 – NFPA 13D Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes is first issued.

• 1996 – The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition is formed.

• 2005 – NFPA 1 Fire Code, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, and NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code all require fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family dwellings.

Residential Fire Sprinklers

• 2009 International Residential Code requires fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family home construction

• 2009 – NFPA launches the Home Fire Sprinkler Initiative: Bringing Safety Home

Residential Fire Sprinklers

Impact of home fire sprinklers

• Death rate per fire is lower by 83%

• Direct property damage is lower by 69% • Direct property damage reduced by $4.8 billion per

year

• Firefighter injury reduction – 65% • Civilian death cost reduction of $10.4 billion per

year!

Social Stigma about Sprinklers

Myths

• When one activates, they all do

• They will go off when I burn toast

• They are ugly and ruin aesthetics

• They are expensive to maintain

Social Changes

The Facts

• Fire sprinklers respond quickly and effectively to the presence of a nearby fire and begin to spray water when activated, taking action before firefighters arrive. NFPA 13D home fire sprinkler systems are designed to provide increased escape time.

Social Changes

The Facts

• Age of housing is a poor predictor of fire death rates.

• New methods of construction negatively impact life

safety under fire conditions, light weight construction, large open areas.

• Larger homes and today’s furnishings increase risk.

Social ChangesThe Real Deal

• When sprinklers are present, they save lives by reducing the risk of fire death and reducing civilian and firefighter injuries and costs.

• Fire sprinklers also reduce direct property damage and protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gases and requiring ten times less water than firefighters use to fight a fire.

Design

• Fire sprinklers respond quickly and effectively to the presence of a nearby fire and begin to spray water when activated, taking action before firefighters arrive.

• NFPA 13D home fire sprinkler systems are designed to provide increased escape time. This is very important with the aging population and those with other disabilities who need additional time to exit the building.

Behavior-Social-Policy

• Going forward, it is imperative to understand that the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are passive alert tools and are effective.

• The home sprinkler system is an active fire protection tool: it sprays water until the fire department arrives.

• All these tools installed together in a home provide a reasonable level of safety to protect families in case of fire.

Behavior-Social-Policy

• We have to educate the consumer to change their social behavior about home fire sprinklers.

• This will allow the policy to be implemented in new construction as it was designed - to save lives.

Behavior-Social-Policy

• Now the consumer has control not the builder because they are educated in the importance of safety tools for a healthy safe home.

• The builder must understand that building homes meeting all national model building and fire codes will save live and that is priceless!

Conclusion

• The smoke and carbon monoxide monitors have their role as monitors.

• Residential sprinklers are the action tool in the trio, they begin to spray water when activated beginning the fire extinguishing process.

• Together this trio as designed makes the healthiest safe home available to the public.

Conclusion

• Fire sprinklers improve housing quality while creating healthy safe homes and sustainable communities in the generation of lightweight construction and synthetic contents.

Reference List• NFPA’s “Characteristics of Home Fire Victims, Jennifer

D. Flynn, March 2010.• NFPA’s “Home Structure Fire Loss in the U.S. and Fire

Sprinkler Impact”, John R. Hall, Jr et al, October 2012.• NFPA’s “US Experience with Sprinklers”, Dr. John Hall,

Jr., June 2013. • NFPA’s “Fire Loss in the United States During 2012”,

Michael J. Karter Jr., September 2013.• Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire

Conditions, Underwriter Laboratories (UL), July 2008.• The Environmental Impact of Automatic Fire Sprinklers,

HFSC/FM Global, March 2010.