More than 80 percent of Canadian firefighters serve in volunteer departments. These highly trained and qualified professionals respond from unstaffed fire halls, at all times of the day and night, with travel times that vary with geography.
You and your loved ones have as little as 90 seconds to safely evacuate once the smoke alarm sounds. After you and your family get outside to your meeting place and call 911, you then await the fire department’s activation, response, and arrival. All the while, the fire grows exponentially. When firefighters arrive, they will do their best to reduce the damage to your home and possessions.
NFPA reports that the death rate from fires in homes with hardwired smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers was 90 percent lower than in homes without these critical early detection and mitigation devices. Sprinklers also kept fires to the room of origin 97 percent of the time. In many cases, occupants who experience a fire can return to their sprinklered homes the same day, or soon thereafter, once the all clear has been received from the fire department.
New rural properties are therefore ideal candidates for home fire sprinkler protection. The NFPA 13D standard that determines how sprinklers are installed recognizes the unique challenges of rural properties. The standard requires that a maximum of two sprinklers flow for up to 10 minutes to provide time for occupants to safely escape. In many cases the required water supply can be met by the well capacity of the home. If this is not possible then a storage tank and pump assembly that are readily available on the market can be used. These assemblies are about the size of a water heater tank and can be installed out of sight in a laundry room. This is like having a firefighter on duty in your home!
In addition to the reduced likelihood of loss of life and significantly reduced property damage, homeowners who install home fire sprinklers may benefit from reduced property insurance. In rural areas the fire risk portion of premiums exceeds security portions and thus premium reductions should be expected.
If you are considering building a new home, protect it with home fire sprinklers. It just makes sense. Protect what you value most. Visit HomeFireSprinklerCanada.CA.