YOUR BROWSER MUST ALLOW POP-UPS
IN ORDER TO LINK TO OTHER WEBSITES OR VIEW PDF FILES.
NFPA issues safety alert regarding antifreeze in residential
sprinklers
On July 6, 2010, the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) issued a safety alert recommending that residential
fire sprinkler systems containing antifreeze should be drained
and the antifreeze replaced with water. The alert is in response
to a research study and initial set of fire tests that were
conducted after a fire incident in CA last year that involved
a grease fire in a kitchen where a fire sprinkler with a
high concentration of antifreeze deployed causing an explosion.
The NFPA technical committees that concentrate on automatic
sprinkler systems, along with NFPA’s Fire Protection
Research Foundation, are working to determine the factors
that contributed to this situation. The alert with recommendations
can be found through the following link: http://www.nfpa.org/antifreeze
Coalition Offers Residential Fire Sprinkler Educational
Presentations
Established a year ago, the Wisconsin Residential Fire Sprinkler
Coalition (WRFSC), a subcommittee of the Wisconsin Fire and
EMS Legislative Leadership Coalition, has been preparing
educational presentations to promote the lifesaving benefits
of residential fire sprinklers. The team addresses the need
for increased education regarding the design and installation
of home fire sprinklers according to NFPA 13D.
The coalition consists of fire service members representing
the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association, Wisconsin State
Fire Inspectors Association, Wisconsin Society of Fire Service
Instructors, Wisconsin State Firefighters Association, the
Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, as well as professionals
from the fire sprinkler industry.
The four residential fire sprinkler education presentations
target members of the fire service, authorities having jurisdiction,
public officials, building inspectors, homebuilders and developers,
architects and the general public.
In order to present the residential fire sprinkler educational
materials to those who are looking to maximize educational
outreach throughout the state, a forum is planned for later
in the year.
For additional information, please contact Thomas Clark,
First Vice President, Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors and
WRFSC Chairman at (262) 287-7717.
NFPA 25 fire sprinkler Inspection, Testing and Maintenance
Compliance
Fire sprinkler systems need to be inspected, tested and maintained.
Effective in 2008, the state of Wisconsin, through administrative
code comm. 14 Fire Prevention Code, Section 14.001, adopted
the National Fire Protection Code NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code,
2006 edition. The NFPA 1 Uniform Fire Code section 2.2 references
the standard NFPA 25, 2002 edition, Inspection, Testing and
Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. This
includes fire pumps.
Inspection, testing and maintenance of manual wet sprinkler
systems shall comply with all of the requirements of NFPA
25, for an automatic fire sprinkler system, except that the
main drain test specified in NFPA 25 is not required.
Fire sprinkler systems are to be operating and protecting
all areas and occupants of the building.
2009 summary report
Download
2009 Summary Report (9.7 MB)
Download 2009 Legislation Summary
American Homes Are One Step Closer to Being Safer from the Devastation of Fire
International Building Code Hearings Result in a Vote Reaffirming Mandatory Residential Fire Sprinklers in New Construction
PATTERSON, N.Y. (October 28, 2009) – American homes are one step closer to being more fire-safe, following the 8:45 PM October 28 vote during the International Residential Code (IRC) hearings conducted by the International Code Council (ICC) in Baltimore, MD.
The vote confirmed, by the IRC Committee, by a 7-4 margin and overwhelmingly supported by the 1,650 credentialed ICC member voters reaffirmed that previously accepted national building codes will make it mandatory for all new one- and two- family dwellings to have residential fire sprinklers starting in 2011 by state or local adoption.
Currently, 44 states are in various stages of legislation to adopt the ICC’s International Residential Code (IRC), the national building code which includes the fire sprinkler requirement. This requirement was in danger of being removed from the 2012 code and was subject to this vote. With this win, residential fire sprinkler requirements have progressed to becoming a standard fire safety addition to homes. This initiative has the potential to vastly reduce the 3,000 yearly fire deaths in the U.S., as well as significantly reduce serious injury and property damage.
Working together, fire sprinkler supporters united to show that mandatory fire “Over a 30-year mortgage, that’s less than the price of a cup of latte' per week! That’s a small price to pay to save the lives of your loved ones in the event of a fire. This is a big win for the fire service and American's where they live. In order to reduce this country’s fire problem, it must be attacked where fires happen the most, which is in the home,” said John Viniello, president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
The IRC is the model code that is adopted in 46 states as the basic building code for new homes. Following code hearings, the IRC must be adopted at the state level. Residential fire sprinkler ordinances already exist in municipalities throughout 34 states.
The inclusion of residential fire sprinklers for one- and-two-family dwellings is a response to the growing fire problem in the U.S. About 85 percent of all fires occur in the home, fueled by new lightweight construction and more flammable home contents. In fact, the new sprinkler regulations have been endorsed by fire service professionals across the country, including the NFPA, U.S. Fire Administration, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and the International Association of Firefighters. Groups such as these agree smoke detectors are no longer enough in residential fire protection, as the time to escape a house fire has dwindled from 17 minutes 20 years ago to three minutes today, and this poses a severe risk to those who cannot self-evacuate or have mobility concerns.
NFSA joined forces with the International Residential Code Fire Sprinkler Coalition – a large alliance of fire service professional organizations, including fire chiefs and fire marshals, fire code associations, and citizen advocacy groups – through educating and canvassing ICC members to vote for the code change.
“This is not a one-person or one-organization victory,” added Viniello. “We are grateful to the ICC for implementing a process that allows for the call for change to be heard and provides a forum for change to take place. In addition, we thank the International Residential Code Fire Sprinkler Coalition for joining so many organizations together to bring us to victory.”
NFPA launches new initiative to help
Bring Safety Home with fire sprinklers
Campaign will focus on encouraging sprinkler
adoptions for new one- and two-family homes on a statewide
and local level
Read
the story
A Message from the u.s. fire
administrator about Residential sprinklers
Download pdf
USFA Position paper - residential fire sprinklers
Download pdf
2008
SUMMARY REPORT
Download
PDF
|
