Home Improvement Ideas - More Protection Needed from Household Fires

(ARA) - Fire-related deaths in this country have decreased in recent years thanks to better technologies and consumer education, but the U.S. fire problem remains one of the worst in the industrial world on a per capita basis.

Thousands of Americans die each year, tens of thousands of people are injured, and property losses reach billions of dollars. In fact, the total cost of fires in this country is more than the total of nearly every other natural disaster combined.

On the positive side, reports show that more than 90 percent of American households now have at least one working smoke alarm. Yet, approximately less than 3 percent of homes in the U.S. have fire sprinkler systems, despite the fact that sprinklers have proven to be the most effective means for surviving a household fire because they actually help to extinguish the fire rather than simply notify homeowners that a fire exists.

Legislators have very recently begun to actively respond to the problem. Today, most cities mandate sprinklers in a number of residential applications, including college dorms and high-rise apartments. Yet, single-family homes still remain largely unprotected.

According to The American Fire Sprinkler Association, just over 200 U.S. communities have residential sprinkler laws. Roughly 100 of these communities, however, are located in the state of California. That leaves only 100 communities throughout the rest of the country with requirements for residential fire sprinkler systems.

In some other areas, fire officials are using incentives to get sprinklers installed in their jurisdictions. There are two types of incentives. One is economic, such as low-interest loans. The other is design alternatives (also known as tradeoffs). In either case, the purpose is to reduce the net cost of installing sprinklers. As an example, a developer might be able to install smaller water mains and fewer hydrants if fire sprinklers are in place. Such cost reductions have proven effective in catching the attention and interest of some larger developers.

Increased education efforts are also under way. Within the past few years, fire protection organizations have teamed up with fire departments, the homebuilding industry and even manufacturers in an effort to educate homeowners on the need for greater protection in the home.

As people are getting smarter about how and where to use fire sprinkler systems, they are also becoming more knowledgeable about the materials they choose for their fire protection needs. At one time there were few choices when it came to fire sprinkler systems. But technology has changed that. BlazeMaster® CPVC fire sprinkler systems, for example, are made from chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), a high-temperature, specialty material for use in fire sprinkler pipe and fittings. Compared to metal, BlazeMaster CPVC systems offer long-term reliability, because they are immune to the effects of pitting and corrosion.

Approved for more applications than any other non-metallic fire sprinkler system, BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems perform when it counts most–under fire conditions—and they’ve been doing so for more than 20 years in the field. Lightweight, easy to install and more economical than metallic systems, BlazeMaster CPVC fire sprinkler systems are quickly becoming the product of choice for safety-conscious homeowners.

For more information on how you can best protect your family from a household fire, visit www.blazemaster.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content