Willumsen Forsyth

Among the most useful ways new homeowners can protect their families is by installing a residential fire sprinkler system. There's no better device at saving lives and protecting property than fire sprinklers.

Almost 3,000 people perish in home fires every year, more than all other natural disasters combined. Its Life Safety Code was recently revised by the National Fire Protection Association to require all new one- and two-family houses built in the U.S. to include a fire sprinkler system. Tyco Fire and Building Products and services, a global leader in fire safety technology, recently launched Rapid Response (www.tyco-rapid response.com), the industry's first branded fire sprinkler system designed specifically for houses.

Roy Marshall, a retired state fire marshal and president of the Residential Fire Safety Institute, says: 'In 30 years of fire company, I've never pulled a lifeless body out of a home where fire sprinklers were installed. I need homeowners to ensure the next home they build includes a fire sprinkler system. Your family's safety depends on it.'

However, fire sprinklers fall victim to some common myths:

Myth #1: The entire process may set off accidentally and ruin my home. All of the sprinklers in something do not stimulate at once. To get additional information, consider looking at: this site. Only the sprinklers closest to the fire activate, although it remains small and quickly suppress the fire. In 90 % of instances, fires are controlled by a single sprinkler.

Fantasy #2: Smoking or burning toast could trigger sprinklers. Fire sprinklers are activated by very high temperatures, not by smoking. Just a terrifying fire can generate enough heat to trigger a sprinkler.

Fantasy #3: The water from the sprinkler system will generate more damage than a fire. The average property loss in a fire contained by sprinklers is $2,200, as the average loss in a home fire without sprinklers is $45,000.

Myth #4: Smoke alarms are enough fire protection for my home. Smoke detectors are exceptional at warning homeowners and detecting smoking, but they can't suppress a fireplace, as sprinklers can.

Fantasy #5: Fire sprinklers can destroy the look of my new house. Fire sprinklers are no longer noticeable and less obtrusive than light switch plates.

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