Author(s) :

Ryan Silvia.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

This research article aims to answer whether areas that have adopted residential fire sprinkler codes experienced statistically significant reductions in life and property loss in sprinklered homes. The study conducted an extensive literature review as well as an analysis of the most current home fire sprinkler data from the state of California. The data collected for this article supports the hypothesis that home fire sprinklers provide a significant property protection benefit and a substantial reduction in fire injuries and deaths for the civilian population. In the five years of data provided by the California Office of the State Fire Marshal, sprinklered homes showed a decrease in property loss of 48% or more in every year except for 2021. Civilian fire injuries and deaths were practically non-existent in fires involving sprinklered homes, and firefighter injuries were also substantially reduced. However, the study is limited by the small sample size of fires where a home fire sprinkler was documented to operate. This is due to both the relatively small number of homes in the United States equipped with fire sprinklers and the inconsistent data collection regarding their use. Fire departments and home fire sprinkler advocates should endeavor to highlight the potential property conservation benefits of home fire sprinklers alongside the life safety benefits in their public education efforts. The fire service must also strive to improve the data collection regarding home fire sprinklers by increasing mandatory reporting requirements for fire sprinklers and should consider working collaboratively with home fire sprinkler advocacy groups to establish a database where fire incidents involving home fire sprinkler systems can be reported. Keywords: sprinklers, fire service, fire protection systems, fire suppression technology, home fire safety

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17