Bottom Line: Only a Mouse Click Away!

By Janet Knowles, Executive Vice President/VP-Marketing & Communications American Fire Sprinkler Association
December 2007

“Stop, drop and roll.” “Get Low and Go.” “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery.”

These messages resonate throughout your communities and make a huge impact on life safety for all ages. But is there another message that fire safety advocates can add? One that will also impact the future of our communities? One that says “Fire Sprinklers Save Lives and Property!”?

Residential fire sprinkler activity is gaining momentum across the country, and much of its success in particular areas can be attributed to the attention focused on the issue by the local fire service and fire service educators.

We know the facts: the U.S. continues to have one of the worst fire death rates in the industrialized world; 80% of U.S. fire deaths occur in the home; and the most likely victims are the very young and the elderly – those who don’t know how or can’t escape. We know that many of the fire fighters injured in fire ground operations are fighting residential fires. We also know that widespread use of residential fire sprinklers can change those statistics. However, like seatbelts in cars, automatic fire sprinklers are not likely to become the “norm” in residential construction until they are required.

As a fire service professional, you are in a unique position to spread the residential fire sprinkler message in your community. A 2005 HFSC Harris Poll showed that 85% of homeowners say they completely trust the fire department as a source for information about fire sprinklers. However, you need facts and effective methods to communicate those facts.

A recent National Survey of Fire Departments, conducted by the Home Safety Council and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, revealed that only 6% of fire departments are focusing on fire sprinkler education. That survey also pointed out that fire service educators continue to search for new, effective means of educating their citizens on all areas of fire prevention and protection. The good news is that wonderful residential fire sprinkler educational materials are free and readily available online. In addition to regularly updated content you receive from HSC as a member of the Expert Network, I hope you are also taking advantage of resources from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) (www.homefiresprinkler.org) and the Residential Fire Safety Institute (RFSI) (www.firesafehome.org). These two organizations provide free, easy-to-access materials that you may use to inform your constituents about residential fire sprinklers and to educate your public policy makers about how and why a residential ordinance will benefit your community.

RFSI provides assistance to communities seeking to enact a residential fire sprinkler ordinance, including sample ordinances, discussion of common trade-ups made available to builders and developers, and a primer with guidance on how to pursue a residential sprinkler ordinance. In many circumstances, RFSI will also provide professional testimony for city councils or other local code decision makers.

Meanwhile, HFSC offers a variety of professionally developed brochures, videos and even animated games to educate your community about this life saving technology. Use HFSC materials to reach community officials, homebuilders and developers, insurers, mortgage lenders, new homebuyers, real estate agents and others. One of the newest HFSC programs reaches students and teachers with “Sprinkler Smarts,” featuring Captain Splash and the Drop-lettes who help children understand fire safety and fire sprinkler technology.

Reminiscent of the battles with automakers who declared that adding seatbelts would make cars unaffordable, the National Association of Home Builders claims that added costs for residential fire sprinklers will put homes out of reach for average citizens. However, communities protected by residential fire sprinkler ordinances in California, Arizona, Illinois and other areas are proving that untrue. If you are ready to lead your community into a higher level of fire safety, remember that powerful resources are only a mouse click away!

Janet Knowles is Executive Vice President of the American Fire Sprinkler Association, an international nonprofit organization representing fire sprinkler contractors. Among her responsibilities is serving as a liaison with other national associations involved in fire safety. Knowles represents AFSA on the steering committees of the Residential Fire Safety Institute and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, where she is also a member of the Coalition's public education committee. She serves on the Executive Board of the NFPA Education Section.