The Cost to Communities That Do NOT Protect Homes with Fire Sprinklers
The cost to install fire sprinklers in new homes is typically less than 3% of the total building cost. Yet cost is often the key argument to omit the requirement. The real concern should be the cost of NOT protecting homes. The actual financial burden of omitting sprinklers falls disproportionately on residents and the community. The cost associated with one house fire can far exceed the cost of installing fire sprinklers in dozens of homes.
Find out more about avoiding substandard construction here.
Community Impact—A New Tool from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition
This online tool enables AHJs and Fire Officials to calculate and display the financial outlay associated with any fire within a jurisdiction. The cost determination process is tailored to the unique circumstances of each fire incident. Users can input local information and data including fatalities, injuries, property loss and displacement. Fire department resources can also be factored. This tool can be used to compare the costs between homes protected with fire sprinklers and homes that are not protected. National averages are provided for comparison in areas that do not have homes protected with fire sprinklers.
Affordable Housing Needs Fire Sprinklers
Too often the false assertion is made that sprinklers make housing unaffordable but the exact opposite is true. Home fire sprinklers reduce infrastructure and operating costs for communities and increase profitability for developers. Need proof? Use our new Sprinkler Impact Tool with your own local costs.
A Custom Presentation for You To Use
The Community Impact Tool automatically creates a PowerPoint presentation that you can use for local officials and other decision makers about fire codes. As you enter your local data you can choose which slides to include and which to exclude. You can create case studies with the data from your local jurisdiction.
*NFPA Fire Loss in the U.S. During 2022 **National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Does Your State Restrict Sprinkler Requirements?
If your state does not allow individual communities to mandate home fire sprinklers, you can use Builder Incentives or Trade-ups to encourage developers to sprinkler new developments voluntarily. Incentives can make developments more profitable through increased density and reduced infrastructure.
Is Your Community Updating Your Codes and Considering Omitting the Home Fire Sprinkler Requirement?
NFPA and IRC codes require home fire sprinklers. If decision makers are considering omitting the requirement because they believe sprinklers add cost, they need to understand the cost to the community when there is a fire without sprinklers, why sprinklers are in the codes and how sprinklers can reduce construction costs. You can demonstrate this with our new Community Impact Tool using your own local statistics. You can also help keep developer support using Builder Incentives or Trade-ups to help them increase their profitability.