Is your fire department hosting a fire sprinkler demo this year?

The beginning of the new year often marks the time that fire departments begin to plan their public safety events to raise awareness about fire safety. Are you with a fire department planning to host a fire sprinkler demonstration as a part of your public education this year? Have you hosted a side-by-side fire and fire sprinkler demonstration and/or performed fire sprinkler demonstrations using a demonstration trailer?

If you are interested in hosting a fire sprinkler demonstration and would like more information and assistance, please visit NFSA-WI Training and Education.

The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) offers a fire and sprinkler demonstration kit with all of the instruction you need to perform a side-by-side demonstration.  Order or download Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition fire and sprinkler demonstration kit

WAFS is seeking candidates for executive director position

The Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety (WAFS) organization is seeking a qualified candidate to fill their full-time Executive Director position.

For information, contact the WAFS office at (800) 315-0911 or visit their website at Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety.

NFSA Announces New Seminar

The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) is pleased to offer a new Sprinkler System Basic Hydraulics seminar taught via the Internet in a live distance learning format.

Using the NFSA Media Center, lectures will be broadcast with facilitation of live discussions from wherever the participants are in the world. For detailed information about this exciting new seminar, please visit the NFSA website www.nfsa.org

Fire Sprinkler Protection in Cold Weather Temps

A Message From Bob Kleinheinz, North Central Regional Manager, National Fire Sprinkler Association

The cold temperatures are upon us. Fire prevention bureaus and building departments can save their communities money in repairs and water damage by reminding local residents and businesses to simply check to be sure their fire sprinkler system is protected for the colder weather temperatures.

Building owners with fire sprinkler systems should check them to make sure that dry pipe systems are dry, wet pipe systems are filled and insulated as they were designed, and antifreeze systems have the proper antifreeze to withstand cold weather. Please have them refer to NFPA 25 standard for inspection, testing and maintenance.

For recent updates regarding antifreeze systems, be sure to visit the NFPA website at www.nfpa.org.

Any questions that the building owner has about ensuring their system is protected should consult with a qualified fire sprinkler contractor, fire prevention bureaus and building departments.

College Fire Prevention Act Recently Reintroduced

The Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones College Fire Prevention Act was recently referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce by members of the Ohio delegation: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, and U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Cleveland.  The act includes establishing an incentive program within the Department of Education to promote the installation of fire sprinkler systems in qualified student housing.

Here in Wisconsin, the 2005 Act 78 requires all private colleges to have their existing high-rise student housing retrofit with fire sprinkler protection by January 1, 2014.  This act also requires all new student housing, private and public campus fraternities and sororities to be retrofitted by the same date.

Consider contacting your US Senator or Representative and voice your support for the Stephanie Tubbs Jones College Fire Prevention Act.

Protect Your Family From Fire: Include Fire Sprinklers in New Homes

National Fire Prevention Week is October 9-15, 2011

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – October 9, 2011 – In the U.S. in 2010, there were an estimated 482,000 reported structure fires resulting in 2,755 civilian fire deaths, 15,420 civilian fire injuries and $9.7 billion in property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This week, fire departments across the country will promote National Fire Prevention Week in an effort to decrease these statistics.

According to Bob Kleinheinz, Regional Manager for the National Fire Sprinkler Association, Fire Prevention Week is an opportune time to inform people about the important role fire sprinklers play in saving lives and protecting property in schools, hotels, restaurants, campus housing, places of entertainment and high-rise buildings, to name a few. Fire sprinklers also protect single-family homes and townhomes.

Home fire sprinklers are a growing trend with several hundred municipalities across the country requiring them in all new homes.

Every year, as the national sponsor, NFPA provides an official theme for the week. This year the theme is “Protect Your Family From Fire.” According to NFPA, installing both smoke alarms and a fire sprinkler system reduces the risk of death in a home fire by 82%, relative to having neither.

Fire Prevention Week messaging reminds people that they should take extra caution in their homes when cooking, also being sure to not leave candles unattended, overload electrical outlets, use worn electrical cords or be careless with smoking materials, among many other hazards to observe,” said Kleinheinz. “When a fire does occur in the home, it is important to have working smoke alarms, have an escape plan, and if building a new home, consider installing a residential fire sprinkler system.”

“It is important for people to know, that home fire sprinklers are individually heat activated from the fire. Only the fire sprinkler closest to the fire activates, controlling and often extinguishing a fire before the fire department arrives. Fire sprinklers allow residents to get out of their homes safely,” said Kleinheinz. “Often people just don’t think about them. When fire sprinklers do their job, it does not usually make the news because there is little damage with minor cleanup and repairs. Often, people can move back into the building in a day or two. Fire sprinklers save lives and property. Without fire sprinklers, it is a different story.”

For more information, visit the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Fire Sprinkler Association’s website at www.firesprinklerssavelives.org and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition’s website at www.homefiresprinkler.org

SAM Fridays Online Series

Don’t miss out! There are a number of online education sessions coming up the next few months as a part of the SAM Fridays online series. The next session will be:

Friday, August 19th
Topic – Freeze Protection for Residential Sprinkler Systems
Instructor:  James Golinveaux, Tyco Fire Products

The combustibility of traditional antifreeze solutions has limited their use in residential and other applications. Learn about the alternatives that are available going forward, including the use of listed residential sprinklers for dry pipe systems.

For more information, to register and future sessions, please visit NFSA training

Nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Receives Federal Grant for Education, Outreach

FRANKFORT, IL – The nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) is the recipient of a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to underwrite a multi-faceted U.S. educational program. The funding will help fire departments increase local activities that improve knowledge of the dangers of home fires and the value of installing home fire sprinkler systems.  It will also educate homebuilders and others to refute common myths and increase interest in the life-saving sprinkler technology.

The funding was awarded to HFSC through the Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  “This grant is important because even though home fire sprinkler systems are increasing in popularity across the U.S., there has never been more confusion or misinformation about them,” says HFSC Chair Gary Keith.  “In every community, there is a great need for factual, noncommercial information about sprinklers and this grant will help HFSC produce and deliver it.”

HFSC is enhancing its Built for Life Fire Department^® Program (BFLFD), which serves as a comprehensive resource to more than 2,000 members, with free turnkey teaching tools and an online peer-to-peer community.  BFLFD is open to any fire department that is committed to making home fire sprinklers a focus of local educational outreach.

Highlights of HFSC grant include a national program to provide 50 fire departments with $1000 stipends so they can build and present educational side-by-side flashover and sprinkler demonstrations to the public, and $1000 worth of local fire safety educational media for another 50 departments.

HFSC will produce a new series of print, broadcast and digital public service announcements (PSA) that will dispel the most common myths about home fire sprinklers. The PSAs will be customizable so fire departments can use them online, on TV and in movie theaters.

As part of its ongoing outreach to all those involved in new home construction, HFSC will offer a new, free, accredited online course on home fire sprinkler installations for homebuilders, architects and others, and produce a multi-media Water Supply Kit with broad-based information about home system connections, meters, etc.

To sign up for the Built for Life Fire Department Program and for more information about these grant-funded programs, visit HFSC online at HomeFireSprinkler.org. Follow the Coalition on Facebook and on Twitter (@HFSCorg).

HFSC was formed in 1996 to inform the public about the life-saving value of sprinkler protection in one- and two-family homes.  HFSC is a purely educational 501(c)(3) charitable organization and the leading resource for independent, noncommercial information about residential fire sprinklers. For more information about HFSC and residential fire sprinkler systems, log on to www.homefiresprinkler.org.

NFPA issues new safety alert regarding antifreeze in sprinklers

The Standards Council issues new Tentative Interim Amendments

April 6, 2011 – The National Fire Protection Association‘s (NFPA) Standard Council has issued four Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) that address the use of antifreeze in fire sprinkler systems. The TIAs provide new requirements in NFPA standards for the use of antifreeze in both new and existing sprinkler systems. NFPA has also issued a new safety alert regarding the use of antifreeze in sprinkler systems. These actions come after extensive research and standards development activities to address concerns raised by the combustibility of antifreeze solutions in sprinkler systems.

The previous TIAs and Safety Alert issued by NFPA in August 2010 are no longer in effect. The entire NFPA Safety Alert and more information can be found at www.nfpa.org/antifreeze.

Source: NFPA press release

Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition to receive the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award

The Congressional Fire Services Institute and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation have selected the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) as the recipient of the 2011 Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award.

The award will be presented at the 23rd Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner on April 7, 2011, in Washington, DC.  Named after retired-Senator Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland, a strong advocate of our nation’s firefighters and rescue personnel during his 36-year career in Congress, the award recognizes organizations for their outstanding contributions to firefighter health and safety.  Both State Farm Insurance and VFIS serve as the corporate supporters of the award program.

Established in 1996, the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) is dedicated to educating the public about the life-saving value of fire sprinkler protection for new houses.  The materials developed by HFSC are being used in outreach efforts across the country to help consumers, homebuilders, officials, water suppliers, real estate and property insurance professionals, and the media understand the many benefits of fire sprinklers.    Through the efforts of HFSC, progress is being made in advancing two of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.  The 14th initiative calls for more resources in the area of public education; the 15th advocates for the installation of home fire sprinklers and the strengthening of enforcement codes.

CFSI President Bill Jenaway and NFFF Chairman Dennis Compton issued a joint statement recognizing the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition for its achievements.  “As members of the fire service who recognize the need and benefits of home fire sprinklers, we have appreciated for many years the important work of HFSC.  In local communities throughout the nation, the Coalition is making a difference in educating the public about the life-saving benefits of home fire sprinklers.  Our two organizations take great pride in recognizing the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition with the presentation of the 2011 Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award.”

For additional information about the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Award, please visit the CFSI and NFFF websites (www.cfsi.org and www.firehero.org).

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For more information about the dinner and other events scheduled in conjunction with the dinner, visit the CFSI website at www.cfsi.org.  The annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner benefits the mission of the Congressional Fire Services Institute, a nonprofit policy organization designed to educate members of Congress about fire and life safety issues.