Is it time the fire industry rethinks their approach to home fire protection

In the early 1960s the fire service was able to make interior attacks on house fires that were often able to be made without the use of self-contained breathing apparatus, (SCBA)   Granted, in those days SCBAs weren't readily available or used by many departments and there were many who saw it as a sign of weakness to even bother with them.

 

Then in the late 60's and early 70's  the nature of house fires in general changed dramatically.

With the introduction of polyurethane foam, (often described as compressed gasoline), as a replacement for Jute furniture padding, one of the most feared phenomena for all firefighters swiftly became an almost regular occurrence.  Flashover.

 

It starts small enough, as with most fires, with the ignition by a small flame on or near any foam-padded furniture inside any home.  The initial piece of furniture on fire produces a thick layer of hot gases which spreads rapidly across the ceiling, heating the surfaces of all the combustible material within the room.  This causes them to give off flammable gases.  Once those gases reach their ignition point, they ignite almost instantaneously throughout the entire area.  Flashover in home fires can and does occur often within just four minutes.  In many cases flashover has already occurred with the responding fire engines barely even out of the station. 

 

Sadly, this means that in many cases if the occupants aren't out of the home before flashover occurs there is a good chance they aren't going to get out.

 

Several agencies even built live fire residential fire protection sprinkler demonstration trailers which showed the speed and effectiveness of home fire sprinklers in extinguishing room fires within seconds, let alone the minutes required to reach the point of flashover.

 

As a result of these programs, a number of cities and counties adopted home fire sprinkler requirements for new homes.

 

Most of these programs were vehemently opposed by segments of the building industry.  Their argument was that the fire problem was mainly in older homes and the added cost would eliminate many new and first time buyers.  They made this same argument against fire alarms but now also claim today's home is built much safer from the fire.  This is actually a true and fair point to make as sheet rock rarely burns.

 

However, most of us don't sit or sleep on sheetrock.  We sit and sleep on foam padded furnishings, with substantially lower flashover points.  I firmly believe that houses burning aren't what is killing people and destroying property, it is the polyurethane foam padded furnishing burning in those homes that is killing people and destroying property.

 

The building industry is once again attacking home fire sprinkler requirements.  Regrettably, in some areas of the country, they are even having successes in weakening or removing these requirements based on this same argument about construction materials.  Despite the fact, an unfurnished home DOES NOT stay unfurnished for long.

 

So why, then, is the building industry finally having success after all these years?  

 

I believe the blame falls equally on three entities.  The fire service, the fire sprinkler industry, and the fire sprinkler manufacturers.

 

First, the Fire Service - does the fire service practice what it preaches?  Ask your local fire department how many of their firefighters have fire sprinklers in their homes.  I remember in the early 60s we were also among the last to install the then smoke detectors in our homes, as well.

 

Second,  The Fire Sprinkler Industry -  Frankly the fire sprinkler industry has sat on their successes for several decades and simply not continued researching and developing their products.  Years ago we successfully tested sprinkler heads that had a micro-switch connected by low voltage wiring to a regular lawn sprinkler solenoid.  This micro-switch was taken from an Identifier model head manufactured by Central Sprinkler Corporation, who also witnessed these tests, normally used in correctional facilities to identify the cell location of a sprinkler activation.  The micro-switch was held in an off position by the ceiling plate.  When the temperature got to 135 degrees, the plate dropped off activating the solenoid allowing the water into the piping.  When the temperature got to 165 degrees, the head opened and water flowed.  The solenoid was set to shut off the water at 10 minutes.  We realized the components used would have to be "listed" but these successful tests answered several concerns used even today against residential sprinklers such as accidental activation, frozen water pipes in exposed areas, and how to shut off the water after activation.  This type of system would also reduce the cost of the retrofitting of existing homes.  These tests were held over 25 years ago and to my knowledge, nothing further has been tested or developed on this concept - or anything even remotely like it  - since. 

 

For those in the field, this is a pre-action design and these tests were meant to adapt that commercial protection system to a residential application.  A means of protecting consumer products and storage which as been available and successfully used for decades has still not been adapted to protecting our most vulnerable citizens where they live and sleep.

 

Third, The Fire Sprinkler Manufacturing Industry - Those who build and distribute these devices simply refuse to sell the sprinkler heads and the approved piping to anybody other than fire sprinkler contractors.  There is no law, rule, or code preventing the public at large from buying and using these products for any reason.  Every trade has some regulation except when done by the homeowner, but Fire Protection Sprinklers is the one trade the average person cannot even buy the parts for.  You are allowed to buy and install lawn sprinklers that save your grass, but not fire sprinklers that save your - posterior.  How does that make any sense?

 

Imagine if the big box stores were allowed to purchase these products and conduct "How To" seminars on the design and installation of home fire sprinklers.  Like they already do for, say, home wiring, tract lighting, and lawn sprinklers?

 

Finally, I believe if fire sprinklers in homes are to be accepted by home builders it may require the installation be done mostly by licensed plumbers.  Vancouver B.C. proved this to be true years ago.

 

The City of Dupont in the state of Washington is a more recent example which also proves this to be a fact.  They require all new homes to be sprinklered and even "prefer", for lack of better phrasing, combination plumbing, and fire sprinkler systems be installed.  These installing contractors are licensed both as Fire Protection Sprinkler System Contractors and as Licensed Plumbers thereby proving competency to all applicable trades, codes, and industry requirements from both trades.

 

Since the plumber will already be on the job for the potable or drinking water system for EVERY new home this brings the cost down substantially.   Let's be honest here, home fire sprinklers are nothing more than heat activated faucets strategically placed in the ceiling or walls of a home.  A faucet we hope never goes off at that.

 

In today's climate of budget constraints, staffing concerns, and response logistics the fire service finds it is becoming more difficult to arrive in time to save lives and property from these home fires.  Their attack changes from offensive to defensive.

 

In most cases, a single residential head not only holds the fire to the room or origin but often actually puts the fire out entirely saving the costs on repairs and preventing the risk of flashover entirely.  The fire service must finally accept the reality that the future of residential fire safety must rely on Instant Firefighters.  The Affordable Life Saver.