Home Fire Sprinklers: A CRR Strategy to Prevent Substandard Homes

One- and two-family homes present the greatest fire risk to residents and responding firefighters. Home fires can become deadly in as little as two minutes because of modern construction methods, synthetic materials and furnishings and emerging technology such as lithium-ion batteries. National NFPA and ICC codes require sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes. Unfortunately, when codes are updated at the state or local level, this requirement is often removed in response to lobbying efforts and misinformation from the home building industry. This can result in substandard homes, threatening Community Risk Reduction (CRR) for decades.
HFSC President/NFPA VP of Outreach and Advocacy Lorraine Carli and HFSC Communications Manager Peg Paul will discuss proven strategies being used to overcome the challenges that prevent homes from being protected with sprinklers. They will present HFSC’s free resources to support all strategies. Also featured will be video messages from fire service leaders including Jim Pauley, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and Chief Donna Black.