CHAPTER 6

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

6.1 Discussion
Many people believe that when one sprinkler system goes off they all will.
This is false; sprinkler heads react to temperatures in each room, meaning that a fire in
the kitchen will only activate that sprinkler head. It takes about 165 degrees
Fahrenheit to set off a sprinkler head. Several people also believe that sprinkler heads
will accidentally go off or cause significant water damage.
The idea of a sprinkler head in the middle of your home does not seem so
attractive, thus causing many people to be against an ugly metal sprinkler hanging
from their ceiling. This conception is extremely false, because sprinkler heads that are
designed for home features are way different than the ones seen in a typical office
building. Sprinklers in homes are designed to be nearly invisible or can retract up into
the ceiling behind plates, in which they can be designed to match your home. Home
sprinkler systems are also designed to function way differently than commercial
models.
The public view believes that installing sprinkler systems would be too
expensive to the home builder or raise the cost drastically. This is false; a sprinkler
system can actually raise the value of your home and protect valuable merchandise.

6.2 Conclusion
There have been several studies from NFPA, NIST, USFA, and NAHB that
show residential sprinkler ordinances are affordable and save lives. Having sprinkler
systems can get you on average a 5% to 10% discount on homeowners’ insurance.
The risk of dying with sprinklers in your home is reduced to 82% which can bring
down the yearly death toll of firefighters and civilians drastically. With over 85% of
all fire deaths occurring in homes in 2009 the death toll could have been reduced from
2,565 to 385 saving 2,184 lives. Also, on average 25% of firefighters die in a
household fire, which brings a yearly death toll for residential fires for firemen to 25.
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The future household with residential sprinklers is not going to just save
thousands of lives, but can keep your hard-earned belongings protected. The city of
Mason has no sprinkler systems installed in any of their homes leaving a disaster for
the future. As homes grow older and technology advances, the risk of fire will
increase.
The public’s perspective of residential sprinklers is truly misguided and must
be changed to build support behind a law mandating residential sprinklers. Installing
sprinklers can reduce water damage and give homeowners more time to escape from
today’s fast-growing fires. The idea that a sprinkler head in your home is ugly is false,
because they build them to blend in with your household and can retract up into the
ceiling. Public support is the future and I hope this combined research will raise
awareness for the millions that do not know the potential of sprinkler ordinances.
Thesis also dedicated to the countless people that have died in residential fires and to
the family members that have suffered through the painful loss.

6.3 Further Extension

Every year, thousands of fires tear through homes and businesses taking the
lives of innocent people. It is not just the people who are inside the dwelling at the
time of the fire, but the firefights who are trying to rescue the people within. But when
you have a fire sprinkler system in our home, the risks of injury or death lower
significantly.