Fire Sprinkler. A look at emergency fire sprinkler systems, and their possible residential applications, including links to retailers of fire sprinklers on the web

Residential fire sprinklers represent a different approach and technology. They add fire suppression to the early warning of smoke detectors. First, a heat sensitive element-called the fusible link-detects the heat from fires. Second, the sprinkler releases water on the fire, extinguishing the fires or confining the fire until the fire department arrives. It is the ability of sprinkler systems to control or extinguish fires in their early stages that makes them such a critical tool in fire protection strategy.

Each fire sprinkler head responds independently, so that when heat is detected and the sprinkler goes off-which is referred to as "activation"-it puts water only on the affected area and not throughout the rest of the house or building. In roughly 90 percent of all documented sprinkler activations in residences, one sprinkler has been sufficient to control the fire

Residential Sprinklers Save Lives
The evidence on this point is overwhelming. There has not been a single residential fire fatality in a residence with a fire sprinkler system in 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.

A home sprinkler system could save you money
Many insurers will lower their premiums on houses equipped with effective fire sprinkler systems. The initial cost of installation could easily pay itself off by reducing your insurance payments significantly for the forseeable future. Not only will your family and posessions be much safer, you could be financially better off as well.