The Colorado Fire Sprinkler Coalition is now included among the other coalitions in the State initiatives section of the Fire Sprinkler Intiative (FSI) website. Home fire sprinkler advocates from Colorado now have their own place to call home on this site. From the site - "The Colorado Fire Sprinkler Coalition is dedicated to promoting the installation of fire sprinklers in future generations of homes. The Coalition is a resource for information about home fire sprinklers and, through a cooperative effort with stakeholders, works to identify and overcome barriers to the acceptance of sprinklers as a critical component of home fire safety." Advocates in Colorado have been working diligently to study all aspects of home fire sprinklers since the requirement was included in all national model codes, in 2008. If you have questions or would like to participate in the Colorado Fire Sprinkler Coalition, call Coalition Chair Mike DellOrfano, Assistant Chief, Community Safety Services South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, +1 720 989-2232. If you would like to start a fire sprinkler coalition in your state, contact your respective NFPA Fire Sprinkler Specialist Tim Travers or Jeff...
Read MoreChief Grupp is guest of honor at Illinois fire sprinkler symposium
Chief Grupp accepts honor at summit The Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board featured Dave Grupp, home fire sprinkler advocate and retired fire chief of the Long Grove Fire Protection District, as the guest of honor at the Illinois NFPA 13D Residential Fire Sprinkler Symposium. Twenty-five years ago, Grupp helped the Village of Long Grove pass the first NFPA 13D home fire sprinkler ordinance in Illinois. At the time when Grupp began researching home fire sprinklers, they had just begun gaining momentum in municipal ordinances in California. Grupp proposed the idea of an ordinance to the Long Grove Village Board and the Board decided in favor of an ordinance, which was enacted on April 12, 1988. Today, over 1,500 homes are protected with fire sprinklers in the Village of Long Grove. Long Grove's ordinance became a groundbreaking event for home fire sprinklers in Illinois. Since that historic day in 1988, another 87 jurisdictions in Illinois have joined Long Grove with home fire sprinkler ordinances of their own. Related articles Read the March 2013 issue of NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative...
Read MoreState Farm® promotes fire sprinklers at Bloomington Home Show
State Farm announced that recently, homeowners got a chance to have their questions answered about home fire sprinklers systems by stopping at its booth at this year's Bloomington Home Show. The show is a premiere event in Bloomington, Illinois. Visitors to the booth were able to talk to representatives from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, local fire departments and learn more about State Farm's support of residential fire sprinklers. State Farm cites the death and injury toll of house fires and recognizes the life saving benefits of these systems. "Residential fire sprinklers are incredibly valuable to produce stronger, safer homes where lives are saved and a family's biggest investment, their home, is better protected," said Bloomington Fire Chief Mike Kimmerling. State Farm Agent Rick McLean and representatives with State Farm Bank also were present to answer insurance related and home financing questions. Related articles Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition announces two new stipends for fire departments Successful fire sprinkler activation saves Tucson home Fire in campus housing controlled by fire sprinklers Fire sprinkler saves apartment...
Read MoreISO revises Fire Suppression Rating Schedule
ISO has filed revisions to its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) and to restructure property rating rules to recognize a revised Public Protection Classification (PPC) structure. From its website –“The FSRS is a schedule filed with state departments of insurance that contains the criteria ISO uses in reviewing the fire suppression capabilities of individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a community’s fire suppression system and develops a numerical grade called a Public Protection Classification (PPC™).” The schedule has, so far, been approved by 27 states. An important change is the reduction of distance to fire station below 3 miles (previously 5 miles) to impact the rating in the schedule. This is due to lightweight construction and modern home contents. The schedule, filed in December 2012, includes a new Community Risk Reduction section that “recognizes community efforts to reduce losses through fire prevention, public fire safety education, and fire investigation.” The new schedule will be implemented in July, 2014. A free webinar is available Related articles Evaluation of Fireflow Methodologies - new Foundation...
Read MoreSignificant Code Changes to the 2012 IRC
Significant changes to the 2012 IRC have been announced by The International Code Council as follows: With some exceptions, Section R501.3 Fire Protection of Floors now requires ½-inch gypsum board or equivalent material to be applied to the underside of floor assemblies in buildings regulated by the International Residential Code (IRC). This change is intended to provide occupants greater ability for self evacuation before collapse and increased safety for firefighters Reduction in fire separation distance for dwellings with non-rated exterior walls equipped with a fire sprinkler system, from 5 ft. to 3 ft. This change recognizes the inclusion of the home fire sprinkler requirement. It is very important to note that studies on ceiling/floor assemblies built with lightweight materials in a basement fire scenario, conducted by the National Research Center Canada, found that the protection of these assemblies provide longer time to failure and collapse. However, incapacitating factors and untenable conditions are still reached within 3 – 5 minutes from the onset of fire. This change should not be viewed as an alternative to fire sprinklers throughout the dwelling. NFPA 1 Fire Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code have included fire sprinkler requirements in all new one- and two-family dwellings since 2006. With the inclusion of the requirement in the 2009 IRC, all national model codes now include this minimum requirement to achieve a reasonable level of safety. A free webinar is available for more information on the above, and other changes....
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