Myths and Facts

The Arguments Against Sprinklers

Myth: “Sprinklers are unsightly”

BUT THE FACT: All residential sprinklers come in colors to match ceiling and wall colors and can be recessed or partially recessed.

Myth: “ Sprinklers may go off accidentally”

BUT THE FACT: Loss records of Factory Mutual Research show that the possibility of a sprinkler discharging accidentally due to a manufacturing defect is only one in 16 million sprinklers per year in service.

Myth: “ Sprinkler heads will leak”

BUT THE FACT: Sprinkler systems are under the same pressure as the plumbing system but are tested at 2-3 times higher pressure during installation.

Myth: “If one sprinkler head goes off, they all go off”

BUT THE FACT: Sprinkler heads are designed to react to temperature in each room individually. Normally, only the sprinkler over the fire will activate. Data show that residential scenarios, usually one sprinkler will control a developing fire; in commercial buildings, as few as three sprinklers will do the job.

Myth: “ They cause water damage!”

BUT THE FACT: Test conducted by a Los Angles Fire Department and US Fire Administration showed that damage caused by water in a sprinklered fire is substantially less than damage caused by fire department hose streams in an identical unsprinklered fire and far less damage caused by a fire which escapes early detection and suppression.

Myth: “ Sprinklers are just too expensive to install.”

BUT THE FACT: With the development of quick-response sprinkler systems which can be supplied by a home's domestic water supply, a 2,000 square foot home under construction can be protected today by a system costing as little $ 3,000. The cost is 1-2% of the home cost-about as much as to upgrade the carpeting . More importantly, there are numerous cost savings benefits of sprinkler systems savings in construction code options and insurance discounts which will offset the cost of installation.

Myth: “residential sprinklers don't save lives.”

BUT THE FACT: The evidence on this point is overwhelming. There has not been a single residential fire fatality in a residence with a sprinkler system either Napa , California or Cobb County , Georgia since the inception of those programs. There has not been a single fire fatality in Prince George 's County, Maryland in a building with a sprinkler system. Scottsdale , Arizona credits sprinkler systems with saving up to 52 lives since the ordinance passed in 1985.

Courtsey: U.S. Fire Administration