All sprinkler heads in the building go off at the same time causing water to flow where there is no fire.
Only one or two sprinkler heads closest to the fire will activate. In the majority of fires, only one sprinkler head will put out the fire.
Water flowing from an activated sprinkler system will cause more damage than the fire.
A residential sprinkler system can extinguish a fire in the “room of fire origin” with less than 300 gallons of water, compared to the 3000+ gallons of water from fire department hoses (on average) to fight the same fire, when uncontained.
Smoke alarms set fire sprinklers off.
Sprinkler heads are individually heat activated, usually at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Smoke alarms do not cause fire sprinklers to flow water.
Smoke alarms are all that is needed to save people from a building that is on fire.
Smoke alarms provide early warning for building occupants but do not ensure a safe exit from the building. Buildings equipped with both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers have a survival rate of over 90%.
“Smoke alarms will put the fire out!”
This is a dangerous and misleading statement that is many times made on the basis that smoke alarms will awaken the people in the home and they will then get the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. Citizens should only use fire extinguishers to fight small incipient fires. The number one priority when you hear a smoke alarm or a fire alarm is to get al members of the family out of the building. Do not fight the fire!
Fire sprinkler systems are not reliable.
Laboratory testing and a 50 year installation/activation history clearly shows that fire sprinkler systems exceed a 95% “fail-safe” status.
Fire sprinkler systems are expensive.
In residential construction, the cost of installing a fire sprinkler (NFPA 13D) system for an average 2000 sq.ft. home is less than ½ the price of a package of chewing gum per day over the term of the mortgage.
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