Technology Requires the Mandate of Residential Fire Sprinklers
Matthew L. Hyde
Columbia Southern University
Abstract
Most people do not like to be told what they can and cannot do in life, but civilized society uses laws to keep order and provide safety for citizens. When it comes to safety in house fires, the answer seems simple to firefighters, but builders and some citizens take issue with being mandated to include fire sprinklers in residential construction. Residential fire sprinklers may place additional costs on buildings and may have some mechanical issues, but they are proven to save lives and property. Therefore, sprinklers should be mandated in new residential construction in order to curb the growth rate of residential fires and to allow more time for the occupants to escape safely. Life safety is paramount and advancement in technology should be used to protect people.
Technology Requires the Mandate of Residential Fire Sprinklers
Fire sprinklers are an overlooked and underused tool in the arsenal of life safety and property conservation. Many advocates for mandating fire sprinklers in residential buildings have worked hard to lobby state and federal governments to require sprinklers in residential buildings, citing increased survivability and reduced heat damage. On December 8, 2017, the Winnetka Fire Chief credited fire sprinklers with saving a local fitness center (“Fire Sprinklers Save,” 2018). Numerous articles and success stories have been printed that give credit to the success of residential fire sprinklers, yet despite this success, some argue that there should not be a mandate to install residential fire sprinklers and that the decision should be left up to the property owners. Associations for builders and contractors have voiced their positions by supporting smoke detectors as an alternative that alerts occupants to the presence of fire, thereby enabling them in escape. However, the rate of fire growth often impedes their exit. Despite the numbers that show the success of sprinklers in homes and the fact that lives are saved by them, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) (n.d.) notes that only California and Maryland mandate residential fire sprinklers, despite the mandate in most states that commercial buildings have fire sprinklers. The same principle behind mandating fire sprinklers in commercial buildings should be applied to residential buildings; life is important and should be protected regardless of whether the occupants are in a commercial or residential building. Residential fire sprinklers may add to building costs and may have some mechanical issues, but overall, sprinklers should be mandated in new residential construction because they are proven to save lives and property.
The Literature Review
Most arguments against the use of sprinklers in residential homes come from a lack of understanding about how fire sprinkler systems work. In an effort to educate the reader, this paper will first introduce how fire sprinklers are made and how they operate and then review information on life safety and property conservation. The following considers the mission of the fire service and the goal to protect life and property, and it will conclude with discussion about the issue of the mandate and how people are affected by the government’s making of such requirements.
Technology and Operation of Fire Sprinklers
Most people are unfamiliar with the operation of fire sprinklers and how they work. This misunderstanding leads to some confusion and apprehension about having fire sprinklers in the home. Contractors and builders that install fire sprinklers are specially trained contractors that follow National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards along with other local requirements (NFPA, n.d.-a). A fire sprinkler system is a network of piping connected to a water system. This network of piping is filled with water and installed in the walls and ceilings. These systems lead to fire sprinkler heads that are located at the end of a plumbing system dedicated to the sprinkler system. A trigger is located on the sprinkler head, which activates to allow water to flow from the head. A glass ampule filled with a glycerin-based liquid is the most common type of trigger on a sprinkler head (Minnesota Department of Public Safety [MDPS], n.d.). The ampule holds a plug in place which blocks the discharge opening on the sprinkler head. The liquid in the ampule is designed to expand with heat, and at a certain temperature, the glass will break allowing plug to be discharged from the opening of the sprinkler head (MDPS, n.d.).
In Favor of Residential Fire Sprinklers
The mission of the fire service is to protect life and property (Brennan, 2010). Fire is a destructive energy force that can have a devastating effect on people’s lives and local governments. The USFA (n.d.) notes that in 2015, there were 1,345,500 building fires reported. Of these reported fires, 3, 280 deaths were reported along with 15,700 injuries. The monetary loss from these reported fires was $14.3 billion (USFA, n.d.). There was a noticeable decrease between 2006 and 2015, but most fire officials believe this trend is not enough. If the mission of the fire service is to protect life and property, then every improvement in the lowering of death rates and injury along with a decrease in damages is a success. The growth of fire from the incipient stage to fully involved is relatively quick. Home fires can be life threatening in just two minutes, and the residence can be engulfed in flames in five minutes (“Home Fires,” n.d.). The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (n.d.) notes that within three to five minutes flashover takes place, and the fire growth is unrestricted in five to eight minutes. This battle against time is one that the fire service must face, and modern building construction practices make it difficult. The rate of fire growth in modern buildings has made the mission of the fire service more difficult to perform.
The Argument against Residential Fire Sprinklers
Many people take issue with the government mandating any issue on private citizens, yet many areas in everyday life have some type of safety mandates from the government. The cars on the highway and the highways themselves must meet certain safety mandates. Most people do not have an issue with buildings having fire sprinklers in an effort to protect life and property, but they take issue with a residential mandate. In response to mandates such as the 2009 edition of the International Residential Code, the president of the Builders Association of Minnesota states, “Builders would be happy to add that feature to a new home. However, we believe that added level of protection should be a choice, not a government mandate” (as cited in Johnson, 2011). In a Harris Poll conducted in 2014, 78% of the respondents say fire sprinklers provide the ultimate protection for residents (Faloon, 2016). However, only two states mandate fire sprinklers, and only two have partial fire sprinkler mandates (National Home Builders Association [NHBA], 2018). Nineteen states have defeated the mandate for fire sprinklers, but allow the local jurisdictions to adopt requirements. In all, twenty-seven states have defeated the mandate (NHBA, 2018).
Literature Review Conclusion
While people may disagree on the mandate of a government over its citizens on fire sprinklers, the success of sprinklers in a building cannot be disputed. Sprinklers are effective on the spread of fire and the further destruction of property by stopping the growth stage. People have more of an opportunity to escape the fire if the building has sprinklers and this reduces the number of deaths and injuries from fires. Residential fire sprinklers may place additional costs on buildings and they may have some mechanical issues, but sprinklers should be mandated in new residential construction because they are proven to save lives and property.
The Argument in Favor of Mandated Residential Fire Sprinklers
The Long-term Benefit Outweighs the Initial Cost
The cost of installing residential fire sprinklers in new buildings is a fraction of the total cost after a fire. A fire destroys much of a building’s structural elements, and it is not all from flame impingement, some of it is water and heat damage. The national average for clean up after smoke and fire damage is $12,872 (“How Much,” n.d.). By comparison, the cost of installing a sprinkler system in a new home is around $3,109. At $1.30 a square foot for an average single-family home (which according to the U.S. Census Bureau is around 2,392 square feet), the savings are just over $9,000. This difference alone would save home owners a substantial amount of money as opposed to failing to install a sprinkler system. The success of having sprinklers in buildings is overwhelming from a financial point of view, but cost is not the only reason to install fire sprinkler systems in residences.
Sprinkler Systems Save Lives
The fact is that sprinkler systems work. Flashover is a deadly event in a fire that takes place within three to five minutes of the fire starting if the building has no sprinklers, but with sprinklers there is no flashover (HFSC, 2017). This prevention of flashover allows occupants the time they need to escape the fire and make it outside to safety. An occupant’s escaping the fire is the end goal of the mission of the fire service. Sprinklers are developed to operate in a specific time and temperature range, so if maintained and properly installed, these systems have minimal issues. They are a success when compared to the chaos of the fire scene and pressure of locating and using fire extinguishers. The NFPA (n.d.-b) notes that fire sprinklers can reduce the risk of occupants’ dying in a home fires by 80%, an overwhelming statistical difference. When one considers the success of fire sprinklers in saving lives, then it could be understood why most governments and codes mandate sprinklers in commercial buildings, but at the same time, one must question the logic of refusing to mandate the same life-saving measures for residential structures.
Without a Mandate, Most Will Not Install Sprinklers
If there is no mandate to install sprinklers in residential buildings, most people will not spend the money to have them installed. The 2012 International Residential Code (IRC) required fire sprinklers in all residential houses, but there is a debate on making them mandatory (Johnson, 2011). Again, if the logic for mandating fire sprinkler systems in commercial buildings is present, then why is it not extended to residential buildings when there are clear benefits? In fact, studies show that 80% of the 2,500 deaths in house fires could have been prevented with the presence of a fire sprinkler system (Hendricks, 2017). A civilized nation with technology and understanding of how sprinklers can save lives has the responsibility to take care of its citizens. The federal government works to keep people safe by mandating safety belts in cars to mandating sprinklers in commercial buildings, but they fall short of saving thousands more by mandating sprinklers in residential homes.
Conclusion
Mandating that new residential homes include fire sprinklers is an argument that should be addressed. As manufacturing technology advances, building materials become not only cheaper, but also more flammable, burning hotter. When a fire alarm blares out in the middle of the night in a home full of loved ones, the five minutes the family has to escape is already ticking away. Sadly, many times, life is lost during these precious minutes. If life safety requires the mandate of sprinklers in commercial buildings, then those same lives should be just as important when they are at home in the bed. It is time for lobbyists, manufacturers, and politicians to look at a simple solution to the dangers of residential fires and to mandate sprinklers in residential homes.
References
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