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Despite growing interest in home fire sprinkler systems across the U.S. and Canada, unrealistic myths and other inaccurate information about sprinkler technology persist. When questions arise, the local fire service is typically the first point of contact for consumers, homebuilders, public works employees and local officials.

If you’re in the line of fire, there’s a helpful tool to refresh your knowledge about sprinklers. The nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) has just launched a new online course that provides factual information about residential sprinkler design, operation, installation and water supply. The course is available at no cost.

HFSC received a 2010 federal Fire Prevention & Safety Act Grant Award to develop and host the course as part of its ongoing commitment to educating the homebuilding, public works and fire service communities about the life-safety benefits of installing sprinklers in new homes. HFSC produced the new module with Hanley Wood University, the construction industry’s premier continuing education and training developer.

“As the fire service works one-on-one with local homebuilders to dispel common myths and increase interest in residential sprinkler technology, HFSC works nationally to create educational tools, materials and activities to support their efforts,” says Gary Keith, HFSC Board Chair. “Now, more than ever, the fire service needs turn-key materials like these so they can incorporate home fire sprinkler information into their local public education outreach.”

Among the topics presented in the new course are fire sprinkler system components, installation and maintenance requirements, variations in water supply methods, life-safety benefits and environmental impact.

Hanley Wood is providing continuing education credits to members of the construction industry.  For BUILT FOR LIFE Fire Department Program members who complete the course, HFSC will provide a signed Certificate of Completion.

The free course is available at: http://hanleywooduniversity.com/learncenter.asp?id=178409&page=550 

There is no cost to enroll in HFSC’s BUILT FOR LIFE Fire Department Program.  Learn more about the BFLFD Program and sign up.

All proceeds and donations from the event go directly to the IFCA Education & Research Foundation which provides scholarships and grants to fire service students and education institutions for undergraduate, post-graduate and vocational education. In 2011, the Foundation was able to provide scholarships valued in excess of $75,000 to fire service personnel throughout the State of Illinois.

The report, “High-Rise Building Fires,” cites apartments, hotels, offices and facilities that care for sick as accounting for roughly half of all high-rise fires. Structure fires in these four property classes resulted in $99 million in direct property damage per year.

There is a downward trend in high-rise fires. In the last few decades, a range of special provisions have migrated into the codes and standards for tall buildings. At NFPA’s Fire & Life Safety Conference, Division Manager of Building Fire Protection Robert Solomon explored code changes related to high-rise building construction, configuration, systems, planning and evacuation procedures.

Find more information on Solomon’s session and the conference.

Other findings from the report:

• From 2005-2009, high-rise fires claimed the lives of 53 civilians and injured 546 others, per year.
• The risks of fire, fire death and direct property damage due to fire tend to be lower in high-rise buildings than in shorter buildings of the same property use.
• An estimated three percent of all 2005-2009 reported structure fires were in high-rise buildings.
• Usage of wet-pipe sprinklers and fire detection equipment is higher in high-rise buildings than in other buildings of the same property use. Most high-rise building fires begin on floors no higher than the sixth story. The risk of a fire is greater on the lower floors for apartments, hotels and motels, and facilities that care for the sick, but greater on the upper floors for office buildings.

The High-Rise Campaign billboard at the intersection of LaSalle & Chicago.

In an effort to educate occupants and managers/owners of Chicago high-rises about fire safety and their buildings’ compliance with the City’s Life Safety Evaluation (LSE), the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB) recently launched a high-rise fire safety education campaign.

The campaign leads occupants and building managers/owners to NIFSAB’s www.HighRiseLifeSafety.com website to promote the installation of fire sprinklers as a method of complying with the LSE. Radio spots kicked off the campaign on The Mix 101.9FM, WBBM 780AM, WGN 720AM, and WLS 890AM, and now a billboard is present at the intersection of LaSalle & Chicago.

Download a  sprinkler save report to record your fire department’s latest successful fire sprinkler activation.

April 2012

Presidential Pavilion Nursing Home
Chicago Fire Department

A sidewall sprinkler controlled a fire in one of the nursing home units.

Tom Hartel, President,
Valley Fire Protection Systems

Offices of Deer Park
Lake Zurich Fire-Rescue

One fire sprinkler activated outside of a stairwell on the second floor of the office building to control a fire that began in a pile of rags that were being used to stain a new floor in an office build-out. Only a rug and some drywall were burnt and damage was estimated at less than $10,000.

“The fire sprinkler system did its job,” said Fire Inspector John M. Bzdusek, Sr. “One sprinkler controlled what could have been a devastating fire with major damage. Tenants were back to work the next day without interruption. This was a great save of a million-dollar, three-story office building.”

John M. Bzdusek, Sr., Fire Inspector,
Lake Zurich Fire-Rescue

March 2012

Tablescapes
Chicago Fire Department

Multiple fire sprinklers controlled a fire at the party rental company. The sprinklers worked successfully even after having been installed 61 years ago.

Tom Hartel, President,
Valley Fire Protection Systems

Solo Cup Company
Chicago Fire Department

A fire that began in a hopper of the disposable food service products factory was controlled by the building’s fire sprinkler systems and kept from spreading until fire crews were able to fully extinguish the fire. No one was injured.

Chicago Sun-Times

(Former) Espo’s Country Lanes Building
Elgin Fire Department

The fire sprinkler system in a vacant building that formerly housed a bowling alley helped keep an arson fire at one of the doorways in check until fire crews arrived.

Richard G. Dunne, Lieutenant,
Elgin Fire Department

Single-Family Home
Long Grove Fire Protection District

Fire sprinklers extinguished a single-family home fire caused by excessive lint build-up in a clothes dryer’s exhaust. The fire sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire in 15 seconds,  just as firefighters were readying their hoses. Firefighters were able to cool remaining hot spots with their hoses in less than 30 seconds.

Although the dryer was a total loss, the fire sprinkler system only allowed the fire to cause minimal damage of $1,500. Everyone was able to escape the home safely without injury.

Lake County News-Sun

February 2012

High-Rise Apartment Building
Elgin Fire Department

A kitchen fire in a ninth-floor unit of the 10-story building was extinguished by the fire sprinkler system before fire crews arrived. No one was injured. All units but the unit where the fire began remained inhabitable.

Daily Herald

Single-Family Home
Lincolnwood Fire Department

Four fire sprinkler controlled a sofa fire in the family room of the single-family home.

John Jaeger, Battalion Chief,
Lincolnwood Fire Department

W.W. Henry
Bourbonnais Fire Protection District

One sprinkler activated to extinguish a fire in a rack storage area of the flooring adhesive manufacturer’s facility. The cause of the fire was a pallet of cardboard boxes, containing dry bulk product valued at $2,500, that had been stored too close to an infrared heater system. The facility was unoccupied at the time, so no personnel were injured.

“Were it not for the fire sprinkler system, the building would have suffered extensive damage,” said Deputy Chief James Keener. “The quick action of the fire sprinklers allowed the business to remain open for production, saving countless jobs and income for the local community.”

James Keener, Deputy Chief,
Bourbonnais Fire Protection District

Multifamily Residence
Lisle-Woodridge Fire District

Fire sprinklers confined a fire to the area around a stove in one of the units, where unattended cooking had occurred. Two residents were home at the time, but one was sleeping and was unaware of the fire. Firefighters were able to remove them both safely without any harm.

Jim French, Fire Prevention Bureau Chief,
Lisle-Woodridge Fire District

Portola Packaging
Batavia Fire Department

Three fire sprinklers extinguished a fire that began in the air unit in the basement of the packaging company’s warehouse. Some shelving was also damaged but there was only an estimated $2,000 in structural damage and $3,000 in content damage.

The fire alarm system warned workers of the fire and everyone escaped without injury.

Geneva Patch

January 2012

Northern Illinois University – Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates Fire Department

A fire sprinkler system in an atrium of a campus building held a fire in place that began when a ceiling heater’s motor seized, causing the wires to overheat and drip flaming content onto a couch below and ignite the furniture in the area.

Scot Neil, Fire Inspector,
Hoffman Estates Fire Department

Apartment Building
Villa Park Fire Department

A stovetop grease fire that extended to the cabinets of an apartment unit’s kitchen was controlled by a single fire sprinkler until fire crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

According to a Villa Park Fire Department press release, the fire sprinkler system confined the fire and kept it from spreading and causing more extensive damage to the unit and the rest of the apartment building and occupants.

Steve Stapleton, Deputy Chief,
Villa Park Fire Department

Kampai Japanese Steakhouse
Mount Prospect Fire Department

One fire sprinkler controlled a fire in the ceiling area of the kitchen until firefighters arrived. The cause of the fire appeared to be a malfunction in a lighting unit.

According to a fire department press release, without an automatic fire sprinkler and fire alarm system the loss to the business could have been significant. Damage was estimated at only $5,000 and the business was able to reopen the next day.

John Malcolm, Fire Chief,
Mount Prospect Fire Department

Domain Communications
Carol Stream Fire Protection District

The fire sprinkler system at the recording studio extinguished a mechanical closet fire caused by a vacuum pump motor.

Tom Hartel, President,
Valley Fire Protection Systems

Landings of Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich Fire-Rescue

A fire thought to be caused by a tenant smoking in bed in his single-bedroom apartment was subdued by two fire sprinklers. The apartment building is still habitable.

Lake Zurich Patch

Senior Suites of Fay’s Point
Blue Island Fire Department

Senior Suites of Fay's Point

Two sidewall fire sprinklers contained and extinguished a stovetop fire in a third-floor unit of the 90-unit, six-story senior living facility. All tenants other than those in the affected unit and the unit below it were able to return later that afternoon.

“The fire sprinkler system did an outstanding job,” said Blue Island Fire Chief Robert Copp. “The activation of two heads extinguished the fire and saved the elderly occupant’s life.”

Robert Copp, Fire Chief,
Blue Island Fire Department

December 2011

Target
Edwardsville Fire Department

As flames from a trailer fire near the loading dock outside of the retail store tried to wrap inside the back storage area, a fire sprinkler system activated to prevent the fire from advancing into the store. The fire was caused by a faulty electric light from the store that was used in the trailer. Shoppers and employees were evacuated as some smoke, but no fire, infiltrated the building. The store was only evacuated for three hours due to some minor cleanup. The Illinois Department of Public Health determined that none of the food stock had been contaminated. No injuries were reported.

“If it weren’t for the sprinklers, we would have had a very serious situation on our hands,” said Bob Morgan, captain for the Edwardsville Fire Department.

The Telegraph

Higgins Brothers
Chicago Fire Department

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, an installed fire sprinkler system assisted firefighters in extinguishing a fire at the four-story warehouse in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, where industrial containers are manufactured.

Ed Prendergast, P.E.

Alden Estates
Orland Fire Protection District

A single fire sprinkler suppressed a fire in the basement laundry room at the health care and senior living facility. No one was injured.

“I give credit to Alden for not just installing effective safety systems, but also for maintaining them,” Acting Chief Raymond Kay said. “That made a big difference. This could have been a much bigger incident within a building that doesn’t maintain its system as well.”

Patrick Collier, Fire Inspector,
Orland Fire Protection District

Hawthorne Race Course
Stickney Fire Department

When firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported fire in one of the horse track’s barns, they found that a single fire sprinkler extinguished the fire, which was caused by an overheated electrical cord. The fire only managed to melt part of a plastic lawn chair and otherwise harmed no humans or horses.

“Several horses were saved due to the fire sprinkler system doing its job to save both life and property,” said Tom Heller, Chief of Fire Prevention for Stickney Fire Department.

Tom Heller, Chief of Fire Prevention,
Stickney Fire Department

November 2011

Single-Family Home
Mount Prospect Fire Department

One of the two fire sprinklers in the attached garage of the sprinklered single-family residence controlled a fire that appeared to be caused by rags coming in contact with a heating source. The fire sprinkler kept the fire from progressing into the home, which eliminated any chance of damage to the home’s interior.

Fire officials said the residential fire sprinkler system’s interior bell alerted the occupants and they were able to exit the home quickly. No injuries were reported and damage was limited to $3,000.

“The home fire sprinkler system did exactly what it is intended to do,” said Fire Chief John Malcolm. “It allowed time for all occupants to escape and saved the entire home from being damaged from fire. If this home was not protected by sprinklers, we would have had an entirely different outcome from this fire.”

Mount Prospect Family Journal

Shell Car Wash
Hoffman Estates Fire Department

The sprinkler system at the gas station’s car wash controlled a fire that started in a dryer for rags and towels from the car wash.

According to Lieutenant Jeff Golden of the Hoffman Estates Fire Department, the employees who heard the fire alarm and discovered it used two dry chemical extinguishers on the fire, but he believes the fire sprinklers did most of the work.

Jeff Golden, Lieutenant,
Hoffman Estates Fire Department

October 2011

Galleria Lighting
Naperville Fire Department

The lighting store’s fire sprinkler system helped contain a fire in the back room of the store.

“Activated sprinklers helped control the fire and minimize the damage,” stated Naperville Deputy Chief Rick Sander.

Naperville Sun

Apartment Building
Oak Forest Fire Department

One fire sprinkler extinguished a fire that began on a couch in a single unit of the apartment building.

According to Oak Forest Code Enforcement Officer Jim Berger, the apartment building had just been renovated in the past few years, which fortunately included fire sprinklers and smoke alarms.

 Jim Berger, Code Enforcement Officer,
Oak Forest Fire Department

Underground Garage
Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District

A single fire sprinkler held a fire check in the engine compartment of a car parked in the garage until fire crews arrived. No adjacent cars were damaged by the fire.

“Had there been no fire sprinkler system, there certainly would have been more fire damage, and much more smoke damage in the building,” said Robert Morris, Director of the Fire Prevention Bureau at the Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District.

Robert Morris, Director of Fire Prevention Bureau,
Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District

To the editor:

Elevators stopping at the fire floor…no fire sprinklers installed.

Sounds more like the script from the film, “The Towering Inferno.” Yet sadly it happened once again in the City of Chicago.

It becomes painfully evident that hundreds of thousands of residents living in high-rise buildings throughout Chicago are at risk of dying in a fire. These “ovens in the sky” will continue to kill or injure Chicagoans, including firefighters, because of a failed administration, including the former and current Mayors and Board of Alderman. They all lack the political will to enact legislation that requires retrofitting these unsafe buildings with lifesaving fire sprinkler systems.

It is not a question of if it will happen again. It’s a question of when.

How high does the “body count” have to get before the city administration becomes proactive rather than reactive? Sadly, those “who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

John A. Viniello
President
National Fire Sprinkler Association

NFPA 101: Life Safety Code

According to Tom Lia, NIFSAB’s Executive Director, the Chicago Life Safety Evaluation (LSE) program falls well short of the national standard of safety, NFPA 101: Life Safety Code, which is the code referenced by the James Lee Witt Report following the deadly Cook County Administration Building high-rise fire of 2003. NFPA 101 requires fire sprinklers in all high-rise buildings in excess of 75 feet and has been adopted by the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal. Chicago’s LSE is essentially a “watered down” version of NFPA 101 and does not address all of the key issues in high-rise fire safety.

Proof that Chicago’s LSE does fall short was a fire on December 10, 2009, on the thirty-sixth floor of the building at 260 East Chestnut that claimed the life of an 84-year-old woman. Prior to the fire, that building had passed the City of Chicago LSE.

LISTEN:  Tom Lia’s interview on WLS 890AM’s “Roe & Roeper Show” (9m 19s).

LISTEN:  WBBM Newsradio 780′s report on high-rise fire safety compliance (0m 43s).

Lia said that the City of Chicago needs to enforce the ordinance. Records show that 76% of the buildings that did file their LSE plans failed to achieve the standards set forth by the Department of Buildings. Violations can be punishable with fines that range between $500 and $1,000. No buildings have been fined for non-compliance. As of December 2009, the City failed to collect nearly $23 million in potential fines.

Instead, the city extended the compliance deadline. The 2004 ordinance included a seven-year period for building owners to comply and repair any deficiencies by 2012. In December, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to extend the compliance deadline to 2015. That is three additional years residents will live with a higher fire risk.

“Especially now that the city extended the compliance deadline, they should require building owners to follow NFPA 101: Life Safety Code, which has been adopted by the Illinois State Fire Marshal,” Lia said.

Click on image for link to Bucks County Report

A report that sheds new light on the lifesaving value of installing home fire sprinkler systems has been prepared for the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) by Fire Planning Associates, Inc., a comprehensive preplanning organization in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the Bucks County Fire Marshals Association.

The group studied life safety and property protection in homes with and without fire sprinkler systems and reviewed fire experience in nearly 7,000 sprinklered homes in Buckingham, New Britain, Warrington, Warwick and Wrightstown Townships as well as Ivyland Borough.

In Bucks County, there were 90 home fire fatalities in non-sprinklered one- and two-family homes during 1988-2010. Those deaths made up 88% of all County fire deaths during that time. There were zero fire fatalities in homes protected by fire sprinkler systems. The report details five reported fires in sprinklered homes documented as saving at least five lives.

The average property loss in sprinklered-home fire incidents in Bucks County was $14,000, compared to $179,896 in damages to homes that experienced fires without fire sprinklers. The report found that fires in sprinklered homes required an average of 340 gallons of water to extinguish the fires. Homes without sprinklers required an average of 5,974 gallons (or nearly 25 tons) of water.

“HFSC initiates partnerships to capture and share useful data about widespread local experience with home fire sprinkler systems,” explains HFSC Chair Gary Keith. “This new data from southeastern Pennsylvania adds to our collection of educational materials that help improve and increase the public’s knowledge about the extreme danger of home fires and the lifesaving value of installing fire sprinkler systems.”

Previously, HFSC analyzed information on 10 and 15 years of home fire sprinkler experience in Scottsdale, Arizona, in partnership with the Scottsdale Fire Department. The reports have been among the most widely used HFSC educational tools.

HFSC also published 1992-2007 data on home fire sprinkler systems in Prince George’s County, Maryland, reviewed and analyzed with the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Prince George’s County Fire Department, and the University of Maryland University College.

“The new report provides detailed Bucks County case study comparisons, which will especially help consumers understand the many reasons why installing fire sprinklers in homes protects residents, property, and firefighters, like no other technology can,” Keith adds.

All of the municipal reports share findings in common, including dramatically reduced fire deaths and property damage and far less water usage in sprinklered-home fires compared to fires in non-sprinklered homes.

Fire sprinklers are uniquely suited to protecting residents of homes – where more than 85% of all civilian structure fire deaths occur, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  Most fatal home fires occur at night, when people are typically sleeping.

Working smoke alarms provide an early warning to alert or awaken occupants so they can deploy their escape plan. However, alarms can only detect a fire and signal it; they cannot control it. When only smoke alarms are present, survival is dependent upon the occupants’ willingness and ability to quickly and appropriately respond (normally, to escape from the home).

Fire sprinklers do more. They detect a fire and also automatically flow water on it within seconds. That fast action controls the fire while it is still small, and in most cases extinguishes it. Controlling a fire in this initial stage limits the spread of deadly heat and smoke, and prevents flashover from occurring (the point at which everything in the room ignites).

Unchecked, a home fire becomes deadly in three minutes or less, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Sprinklers are designed to control flames and give residents a safe opportunity to escape. This added time is especially valuable for the most vulnerable populations – young children, older adults, and people with disabilities that limit their mobility.

Because sprinklers keep a fire small, the structure remains safer for responding fire departments. That reduces injuries to firefighters.

Read the Bucks County report.

Representative Robert Pritchard was honored by the IFIA for his fire sprinkler advocacy and dedication to the Illinois fire service. Those pictured include (left to right) Don Huenecke, IFIA Public Fire & Life Safety Committee; IFIA President Rick Marek; Fire Inspector Al Geeser, Cherry Valley Fire Protection District; Representative Pritchard; Margaret Vaughn, Governmental Affairs for NFSA-IL; IFIA Executive Director Robert Morris; and Ed Dunne, IFIA Public Fire & Life Safety Committee.

Surrounded by fire safety officials from across the state, Representative Robert Pritchard (R-Hinckley) of the 70th House District was recently presented an award for his dedication to the fire service and fire sprinkler advocacy at the Illinois Fire Inspector Association’s (IFIA) annual Fire Prevention Week Awards Luncheon.

“Representative Pritchard has been a strong advocate for fire safety issues in Springfield and has been an active member of the General Assembly’s Fire Caucus,” said IFIA Executive Director Robert Morris, who presented the award to Pritchard.

According to Fire Inspector Allen Geeser of the Cherry Valley Fire Protection District, which is located within the 70^th District, Representative Pritchard recently sponsored legislation that could make it easier for local public entities to install and maintain automatic fire sprinkler systems.

“Local community and fire departments know from experience that fire suppression systems save lives and reduce property damage,” said Representative Pritchard. “The latest fire service bill I am sponsoring would give local units of government the ability to use tort liability funds to install suppression systems.”

Aiming to provide safer buildings throughout Illinois, Representative Pritchard’s bill introduction was preceded by months of examining fire sprinklers in various building types and remaining attentive to fire-related events across the state.

Representative Robert Pritchard (center) attends an open house for a newly sprinklered Frankfort home and is pictured with Peg Paul (left), Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, and Tom Lia (right), NIFSAB.

Tom Lia, executive director for the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB), noted that Representative Pritchard visited a home fire sprinkler system donation ceremony at a home in Frankfort, Illinois.

The event recognized the companies and organizations that donated materials and labor for a fire sprinkler system in the handicap-accessible home, while also offering a view of fire sprinklers behind the walls, as the drywall had not yet been installed. At the event, Representative Pritchard also used the opportunity to speak with NIFSAB, the national nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, and State Farm Insurance, all of which provide important fire sprinkler education.

“We applaud Representative Pritchard for his proactive approach to fire safety in an effort to protect the business owners and residents in the State of Illinois,” said Lia.