The Station House A News Letter for AHJ s,

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August, 2004 Volume 5, Issue 2 The Station House A News Letter for AHJ s, Fire Sprinkler Contractors & Underwriters Dormitory Sprinkler Codes Continue to be Adopted in the US Illinois Governor

Program Florida Governor Bush Recognizes Home Fire Sprinkler Awareness Day Sprinklers Never Sleep Success Stories AFSA Announces September Trade Show New Dry Sprinkler Freezer Penetration Device VRP

Quite simply sprinkler systems save lives, Gov. Blagojevich said.

1 August, 2004 Volume 5, Issue 2 The Station House A News Letter for AHJ s, Fire Sprinkler Contractors & Underwriters Dormitory Sprinkler Codes Continue to be Adopted in the US Illinois Governor Blagojevich signs bill requiring fire sprinkler systems in dorms In This Issue Residential & Dorm Codes Continue to be Adopted in USA HFSC to Receive Federal Funding For Fire Sprinkler Awareness Program Florida Governor Bush Recognizes Home Fire Sprinkler Awareness Day Sprinklers Never Sleep Success Stories AFSA Announces September Trade Show New Dry Sprinkler Freezer Penetration Device VRP Update SPRINGFIELD Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich signed legislation requiring dormitories at all public and private colleges and universities in Illinois to have fire sprinkler systems installed by Quite simply sprinkler systems save lives, Gov. Blagojevich said. As parents, we shouldn t have to worry that our college students might be killed in a dorm fire when something as simple as a sprinkler system could save their lives. HB 4361, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Burke (D-Chicago) and Sen. Lawrence Walsh (D-Joliet), requires all colleges and universities to have a fire sprinkler system in both newly constructed and existing dorms within the next eight years. "I thank the Governor for recognizing the positive impact this legislation will have on the safety of our college students in Illinois," said Sen. Walsh. "By setting realistic goals for installation and by providing the low-interest loans for colleges and universities to purchase the sprinkler systems, we ensure the safety of students for years to come." According to the National Fire Protection Association, 32 college students have died in campus housing fires since While there are an average of four fires a day in collegiate housing, fire suppression technologies, such as sprinkler systems, are present in just 35% of those fires. Fires spread very rapidly and, unfortunately, even the quickest response by firefighters is sometimes too late to save lives in dorm fires, said Illinois State Fire Marshal J.T. Somer. Sprinkler systems have been in use for over 100 years and we ve seen it proven time and time again they can buy us extra time that can truly make the difference between life and death. Article Provided by NFSA

Page 2 Home Fire Sprinkler Effort Receives Federal Attention & Funding The HFSC program will be carried out through two main activities: a pilot model home program conducted in 10 markets throughout

2 Page 2 Home Fire Sprinkler Effort Receives Federal Attention & Funding The HFSC program will be carried out through two main activities: a pilot model home program conducted in 10 markets throughout the country and a national outreach component. The pilot program will partner home builders and developers with sprinkler contractors and fire service members in a unique local team. Participating pilot sites will agree to install an automatic fire sprinkler system in selected model homes, showcasing and offering sprinkler systems to wouldbe home buyers. HFSC will provide on-site training, as well as targeted educational materials for employees and new home buyers, as well as other valuable incentives. June 21, 2004 The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) has been awarded a 2003 U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Fire Prevention and Safety Grant for its national residential fire sprinkler awareness program, Built for Life. The nearly $600,000 grant will be utilized by HFSC over the coming year to conduct its two-part, national strategic initiative designed to generate interest in home fire sprinkler system installations. The expanded education outreach will improve knowledge about home fire sprinklers and ultimately increase the number of sprinklered homes. Built for Life is the first national sprinkler education effort directed at the tens of thousands of contractors/ developers who build homes in the U.S. The program will be carried out by Frankfort, IL-based marketing and communications firm Peg Paul & Associates, HFSC s communications manager. It will also expand HFSC s existing general public outreach efforts and increase the variety, availability and distribution of free home fire sprinkler training and educational materials to the U.S. fire service. This program literally builds on the work the HFSC began in 1996, says HFSC Chair Gary S. Keith. In recent years we have made considerable gains in uniting the home building community with the fire service. Now, thanks to the support of the Federal Government, Built for Life takes our work to the next level. For the first time, we will have a national model of local cooperation that can be benchmarked and evaluated to improve the process of sprinklering homes in the future. The national component works in concert with the pilot program. Utilizing various distribution vehicles, including HFSC s Web site the expanded national promotion and outreach strategies will foster continued relationships among the broader home building community, sprinkler contractors and the fire service, while raising awareness of home fire sprinklers among the public. The Built for Life program s enhanced national focus on home systems is expected to arm all interested parties with key sprinkler facts while dispelling widely spread myths, leading to greater home-buyer demand for the life-saving fire protection systems. At last, with Built for Life we have within arm s reach what the America Burning report and its updates have recommended over and over again an aggressive national strategy to put fire sprinkler systems in the places where people are at greatest risk of fire: their homes, Keith said. The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition mission is to increase awareness of the life- and property-saving benefits of fire sprinkler systems in homes. Since 1996, HFSC has worked collaboratively with local, state and national groups, designing and distributing timely, useful and accurate educational materials which fill voids or harmonize with programs and materials already in use. For more information about residential sprinkler systems and home installations, call the HFSC, toll-free (888) or visit the Coalition's Web site at org. The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition s (HFSC) mission is to provide accurate information to the public about the life-saving value of residential fire sprinkler protection, particularly in new construction of one- and two-family dwellings. Steering Committee Members include the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA), Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association (CASA), Home Safety Council (HSC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), Sharel Stokes Fire Sprinkler Public Education Foundation and U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA), as well as 17 affiliate members.

Page 3 Florida Governor Jeb Bush Recognized Home Fire Sprinklers With Awareness Day Noting that automatic fire sprinkler systems are accessible, cost-effective fire protection for homes, Florida

3 Page 3 Florida Governor Jeb Bush Recognized Home Fire Sprinklers With Awareness Day Noting that automatic fire sprinkler systems are accessible, cost-effective fire protection for homes, Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed an order declaring April 8th Florida Home Fire Sprinkler Awareness Day. In his proclamation, the Governor called fire sprinkler systems the next generation of home fire safety and said they also protect the safety of our dedicated members of Florida s fire and emergency services, who put their lives on the line for the rest of us each day. A well-attended Tallahassee press conference to kick off Florida Home Fire Sprinkler Awareness Day was held in Florida s Capitol on April 8th, with live fire sprinkler demonstrations helping to bring out local print, electronic and television reporters. Organized by a coalition led by the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, the Florida Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, and the Florida Division of State Fire Marshal, the press conference featured special guest Florida State Fire Marshal Tom Gallagher, and resulted in a strong turn-out by state fire service officials and representatives of the fire sprinkler industry. A trailer brought to the grounds of the Capitol by Wiginton Fire Sprinkler was used to provide dramatic fire sprinkler demonstrations, making believers out of the observers. I have been there and seen the destruction and devastation from fire. It can happen to any one of us, said Chief Wayne Martin of the Oviedo, Florida Fire Department, and Chair of the Florida HFSC. Martin, who has lived in a sprinklered home for more than 13 years, says, I believe that as a fire chief, I must walk the walk, and therefore set the example. The sprinklers I have lived with have always given me a sense of security. When I have to leave my family behind each day for work, travel or to someone else s emergency, I feel my family is safe. The Florida Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition has been working locally since 1999 to help Florida homeowners learn about the availability of automatic fire sprinklers. A lot of energy is expended by Coalition participants to educate the public about fire in general. National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) Director of Regional Operations Buddy Dewar says, It s absolutely amazing how much misinformation is out there, and not just about sprinklers. One of the main reasons we use the sprinkler trailer is to help people understand how fast fire really progresses, and how fast and effective sprinklers really are in response. Dewar, whose background is in the fire service, says that sometimes it takes a tragedy for people to fully appreciate their own risk of fire. To be successful, much of HFSC s work necessarily focuses on setting the record straight about fire sprinklers themselves. Dewar brought photographs of his own home s sprinklers to the press conference to debunk the myth that home fire sprinklers are obtrusive. His strategy worked! Virtually everyone who saw them admitted to him that his recessed lighting was more obvious than the sprinklers. Gary Keith, Chair of the national HFSC, shares Dewar s concerns that the myths affect consumer interest in sprinklers. Together, fire sprinklers and smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire more than 80 percent, relative to having neither. When you consider that more than 3000 people die in home fires in the U.S. every year, you quickly realize how many lives could be saved if more homeowners chose to have sprinkler systems installed. But they can t choose fire protection if they don t know it s available to them, and they won t choose it if they buy into the antisprinkler propaganda. In Florida, residential sprinkler systems entitle homeowners to discounts on property protection insurance up to 10%. Some Florida insurers offer even more. But Keith says surviving a fire is the most important incentive for installing sprinklers in homes. When homeowners are building a new home, they often don t think twice about upgrading kitchen cabinets, carpeting and tile. If more homeowners realized that they could choose an upgrade that would save their lives in a fire, I believe they would choose sprinklers every time. For a copy of the Florida Proclamation, visit www. HomeFireSprinkler.org. Contact us on the Web at: for more information.

4 Page 4 Fire Sprinklers Never Sleep Success Stories 1 Sprinkler Extinguishes Apartment Fire 3 Fire in (Laboratory) Doused by New Sprinkler System New Hampshire A residential sprinkler system extinguished an early-morning fire in an apartment building, allowing occupants, who had been awakened by the building s fire detection system, to escape uninjured as smoke filled their firstfloor apartment. A fire department officer later noted at least one occupant had to pass the fire in order to egress from the apartment and was only able to do so because of the sprinkler activation. The four-story building had brick exterior walls and a wooden roof with an asphalt covering. It covered approximately 11,000 square feet (1,022 square meters) and had a monitored sprinkler system. Firefighters responding to the 6:05 a.m. alarm found heavy smoke in the first-floor unit when they arrived, (a single sprinkler) which was still operating, confined the fire to the kitchen. Investigators determined that the fire started when a stuffed animal in a wicker-shelving unit in the kitchen ignited. The toy was lying on top of a cell phone that had been plugged into an electric charging unit for 4 or 5 days. The equipment, overheated and ignited the toy. Value of the building and its contents wasn t reported, but losses were estimated at less than $1,000. Reprinted from NFPA Journal 2 Sprinklers Extinguish Loading Dock Fire Washington Sprinklers protecting a loading dock at a strip mall extinguished an early-morning fire. It was the second time the mall s sprinklers had extinguished a loading dock fire on the property. The single story mall building which was 680 feet (207 meters) long and 119 feet (36 meters) wide, had concrete-block walls and a wooden roof covered with plywood and built-up roofing material. A dry-pipe sprinkler system with a monitored water-flow alarm protected the exterior canopies and loading docks. By Jim Burns - A fire in Sinsheimer Laboratories late Saturday afternoon [5/30/04] was contained to a single lab by a sprinkler system that was installed after a blaze in the same building two years ago caused millions of dollars of damage. No one was injured during Saturday s incident, which resulted in significantly less smoke, water, and equipment damage than occurred in the January 2002 fire. A (sprinkler) near the origin of the fire, in the same fourthfloor laboratory where the blaze began two years ago, activated the new sprinkler system in addition to alerting UCSC fire crews. Campus Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) crews were in the biology and biochemistry building late into the night on Saturday; they reported that the fire released no hazardous materials. On Tuesday morning, campus personnel were still assessing the damage and the impact on building occupants near the fire. EH&S director Buddy Morris said crews have already begun drying the south wing of the building, the area of the building that sustained water damage. The plan was to accelerate the drying process by circulating hot air throughout the wing. We re hoping we can get the building sufficiently dry by next week, Morris said. A California Department of Forestry investigator, who was also on the scene, believes the fire was caused by a small water bath on a counter in the lab of Manuel Ares Jr., professor of biology. The official report is several days away, said Tom Vani, vice chancellor for Business and Administrative Services. Given that this is the second fire in this lab, we are undertaking a thorough review of this situation and our safety practices, he added. Reprinted from The value of the mall was estimated at $10 million, and it contained $23 million worth of of merchandise and fixtures. Damage to the building was estimated at just $2000, and its contents were untouched. Reprinted from NFPA Journal

Tyco Fire Products L.P. 451 North Cannon Avenue Lansdale, PA 19466 Phone: 800-523-6512 215-362-0700 Fax: 215-362-5385 Remember State Fire Marshal, Your VRP Statistics Are Attached.

You may distribute these statistics or this news letter to your constituents.

5 Tyco Fire Products L.P. 451 North Cannon Avenue Lansdale, PA Phone: Fax: Remember State Fire Marshal, Your VRP Statistics Are Attached... Your state s Voluntary Replacement Program Statistics are attached to this Newsletter. The Statistics for the VRP are state and Program specific. You may distribute these statistics or this news letter to your constituents. We encourage you to pass along the information contained in this newsletter and the positive progress that is being made in the VRP. American Fire Sprinkler Association Plans Annual Seminar & Exhibits The American Fire Sprinkler Association s annual convention will be held at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa in Desert Springs, California from September 11 through 15. The convention features CEU accredited seminars that will run from September 12 through 14. The seminars feature topics such as the NFPA 5000 Building Code, corrosion in Fire sprinkler systems, NFPA 20 Fire Pump updates, and a variety of fire sprinkler related topics that include performance based design, foam and high expansion foam, and overviews of NFPA 13, 13D, 13R, and 25. Speakers will include representatives of the AFSA, NFPA, manufacturers, and outside consultants to the industry. New DSB-1 Dry Sprinkler Boot for Freezer Penetrations Tyco Fire Products has developed a Dry Sprinkler Boot to be used in Freezer areas where cold feezer air and warm building air creates air exchange moisture on the dry sprinkler shaft. The DSB-1 helps maintain a seal on the top of the freezer to prevent the moisture from entering the freezer penetration. Helps to Seal Freezer Penetration Eliminates the Need for Caulking or Insulation Pliable, Non-Rigid Boot for Situations Where the Piping System "Moves" Helps Direct Moisture Buildup from Entering Freezer Penetration Fast & Easy Installation Installs With the Dry Sprinkler The show includes a two day exhibit on the 13 th and 14 th, that will feature over 125 booths. Manufacturers and distributors of fire protection tools and equipment will display the latest innovations, and company representatives will be there to explain the uses, features, and benefits of the products. The exhibit affords the opportunity to discuss products and applications in a one-on-one setting. The show is open to non-members, and representatives of the fire service and fire protection community are encouraged to attend. Information regarding the convention is available at the AFSA website at Palm Desert California

HOME FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS. the future of fire safety here today

HOME FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS. the future of fire safety here today HOME FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS the future of fire safety here today UNDERSTANDING FIRE SPRINKLER PROTECTION FOR HOMES Fire kills more people in the United States annually than all natural disasters combined.