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Home sprinkler systems and smoke alarms |
How safe is your family? How safe is your
home? Every year on average, more than 3,000 people needlessly die in fires
that take place where we feel safest: our homes. At the same time, hundreds
of thousands of valuable residential properties are destroyed by fire. Are
you sure your family is protected if fire strikes?
The nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) wants to make sure you
can answer “yes” to that question. HFSC is a network of safety professionals
who work together to raise awareness of the technologies that can save lives
if fire strikes. According to HFSC, combining smoke alarms with automatic
fire sprinklers delivers the highest level of fire safety you can get.
Here’s why: Smoke alarms provide early warning when fire breaks out, giving
you time to escape. Fire sprinklers provide early suppression, containing or
extinguishing the fire in its early stages before fire and smoke can spread
to deadly proportions. Combined, these two proven technologies cut your risk
of dying by more than 80 percent.
HFSC recommends installing smoke alarms on each level of every home and
protecting each sleeping area. For families building a new home or
conducting a major home improvement project, HFSC recommends installing an
automatic fire sprinkler system as well.
Automatic fire sprinkler systems take home fire protection to the next
level. Not only do sprinklers react quickly by dousing water and stopping
the fire, sprinkler systems also minimize the deadly smoke produced by the
fire, helping to limit its spread.
Fire sprinklers have protected commercial properties for more than 100
years. Today, more families who are building or remodeling homes are
choosing to include a residential fire sprinkler system and more builders
are now offering their customers fully installed sprinkler system
home. Remember to check your smoke alarm batteries monthly. Smoke alarms
should be at the top of each stair case and in the basement, try not to put
one in the kitchen but near to it as smoke from cooking will set of the
smoke alarm.
“A home fire sprinkler system is a great investment,” says Chief Dennis
Compton, retired from the Mesa, Ariz., Fire Department and now a national
public safety advisor. “Home fire sprinklers protect your safety, reduce
property loss and can even bring you a savings on home insurance costs. Fire
sprinklers are truly the next generation in home fire safety.”
A newly designed Web site is now available to help homeowners and builders
learn more about the option of adding automatic fire sprinkler protection to
homes.
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