Community Risk Reduction with Home Fire Sprinklers Incentives
Home Fire Sprinklers Protect Residents and First Responders
Sprinklered developments support Community Risk Reduction (CRR) as home fire sprinklers provide superior protection for responders and residents, benefitting the entire community for decades. Unsprinklered new-home fire exposure puts responders at risk from fire, collapse, and health hazards. Each new home built without sprinklers makes the community less safe for all. By protecting new housing stock, existing resources can be directed at high-risk populations and existing unsprinklered structures.
Fire Sprinklers Support Community Risk Reduction Programs
Fire department resources are always scarce. By controlling the spread of fire, home fire sprinklers free up time that can be shifted to risk reduction programs such as smoke alarm distribution and fire safety education.
See What Members of the Fire Service Say About Fire Sprinkler Incentives and Community Risk Reduction
How home fire sprinklers are key to firefighter safety and community risk reduction
The fire chief has to be a community leader and activist.
We have to teach our leaders and decision makers about the benefits of home fire sprinklers.
There’s lots of ways about start the process of teaching about home fire sprinklers.
AHJs has the opportunity to look at alternative means and methods in the code to allow fire sprinklers.
There’s a tremendous benefit to firefighters when homes have fire sprinklers.
The fewer times we expose firefighters to the hazards of contamination the more healthy they will remain.
Working with Developers
Building New Developments With Home Fire Sprinklers Can Increase Fire Safety for the Entire Community. Resources that might have gone to fighting fires can be focused on Community Risk Reduction (CRR). They can help reduce municipal operating expenses through lowered water demands.
Other Local Officials
In some communities the city planner or planning department handles all aspects of development for the town. In others the city manager, mayor or city council may be involved. Your city planner should be able to let you know who you should work with.
The local water purveyor or department is also critical to the success of the program. Many water purveyors do not understand the difference between commercial water sprinklers and NFPA 13D systems. As a result they sometimes impose fees and restrictions that make sprinklers financially impractical. By presenting the facts, particularly about water usage, you can avoid this potential problem.
See how building with home fire sprinklers has benefitted developers with HFSC fire sprinkler incentives case studies →.
Inform the Community
In many communities residents watch over new developments very closely. If they hear that you are allowing developers increased density or reduced water infrastructure they may oppose it. Reach out to community residents to explain how putting fire sprinklers in new developments makes everybody safer.