1. Fire growth: No sprinklers

2. Workbook Page 2 Fire growth: Sprinklers present

3. Why Fire Sprinklers? 80% of fire deaths occur in the home Low probability, high consequence event Over 4,000 people die each year in home fires $$$ millions in property damage Less than 2% of homes contain sprinklers

4. Residential sprinkler benefits Life safety

5. Residential sprinkler benefits Property safetyConservationEnvironmental impact Demand on FD FF safety Housing density

6. Causes of house fires (%) 15 10 25 13 15 22

7. Who Is Most At Risk In A Fire? Sleeping occupants Small children and the elderly Twice as likely to die as able-bodied adults

8. What Is Flashover? When ceiling temp reaches ~1,200° F: Bottom of smoky layer erupts into flame Everything combustible ignites at once Can take as little as five minutes

9. Heat Spread by Convection

11. Most victims in post- flashover fires are remote from the room of origin

12. Residential Sprinklers & Demand on Resources Water: 9-12 GPM v. 200 GPM per line. Apparatus & personnel: Fewer critical tasks = fewer resources. Organization: Can be EMS-oriented v. suppression- oriented.

13. Critical fireground task A task that must be performed simultaneously, or in a highly coordinated manner, with other tasks. Examples of critical tasks Attack line and ventilation Attack line and water supply

14. Critical Fireground Tasks Task Personnel Assignment Attack 2 1st engine S & R 2 Ladder Co. Ventilation 2 As assigned Backup line 2 2nd engine Safety 1 As assigned Pump oper. 2 Each engine Water supp. 1 2nd engine Command 1 District chief

18. Sprinkler v. manual suppression 30-90 seconds after flames 13 GPM @ 10 PSI Very little has burned Room of origin still tenable to life Operates automatically 8-15 minutes after report 200 GPM @ 100 PSI A lot has burned Entire home untenable to life Someone needs to call fire department

19. Sprinkler v. fire department Sprinkler Operates whether you can take action or not Elderly, bedridden, children Operates whether you are there or not Asleep, in another room, in yard, away Fire department Firefighters can ’ t respond until someone calls Fire can burn unnoticed until it breaks out of house

20. Why sprinklers? Builders build safe homes – then people move in Houses don ’ t catch fire, contents do Contents loaded with synthetic material Burn twice as hot, twice as fast Homes are tight for energy

21. Why FD ’ s want sprinklers Can ’ t respond in time to save lives Content fires go to flashover in 5 minutes or less Occupants start dying halfway to flashover Occupants who can ’ t get out under own power twice as likely to die The young, elderly

22. Smoke alarm limits In house fire where deaths occurred, over 40 percent of the homes had working smoke detectors Occupants often disable smoke alarms to prevent nuisance alarms

23. Sprinkler effectiveness Smoke detectors by themselves less than 50 % effective Smoke detectors + sprinklers increase survival rates to 97% Based on long-term studies in Napa CA, Prince Georges County MD, Scottsdale AZ

24. Why sprinklers are effective Quick acting (30-60 seconds after flames visible) Fire is small and containable Stop spread of smoke and flame before flashover Control fire with 10-15 GPM v. 200 GPM from fire hose

25. Sprinkler experience Zero lives lost in sprinklered homes Scottsdale, AZ Napa, CA Prince George ’ s County, MD Property damage (including water damage) nine times less Fire departments handle with fewer stations and firefighters

26. Before 13D NFPA 13 was the only standard Categorizes buildings by “ hazard class ” Fire load, rate of heat release, peak heat release Uses area v. density to determine water flow As hazard class increases, density and coverage area increase Higher hazard = more GPM, more sprinklers Additional gallonage for fire hoses

27. NFPA 13 Area/Density curves

28. Density and area coverage Function of orifice size and pressure. Orifice size indicated by K factor. Examples - 3.0, 3.9, 4.2, 5.6. The higher the K factor, the larger the orifice.

29. Lower pressure = smaller area

30. Higher pressure = larger area

31. Use of higher pressure Sprinklers with the same orifice size can cover wider areas with the same density Reliable RES 16, 3.0 K factor 9 GPM over 12 x 12 area at 9 PSI 10 GPM over 14 x 14 area at 11.1 PSI Both supply.04 GPM per sq. foot

32. Use of larger orifices Compared to a head with a smaller K factor, one with a larger K factor supplies a higher density to the same area. 3.0 for 14x14 area flows 10 GPM at 11.1 PSI. 3.9 for 14x14 area flows 12 GPM at 9.5 PSI.

33. Hydraulically most remote The hydraulically most “ demanding ” At the minimum required flow, the sprinkler that causes the highest drop in pressure from the street Not the geographically most remote on gridded systems Water enters grid at different points

34. NFPA 13D Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes

35. NFPA 13D ’ s beginnings “ America Burning ” published in 1973 US leads in fire deaths. Most fire deaths occur in homes. NFPA 13 committee formed residential sub-committee to investigate sprinkler protection.

36. Format of 13D 1 - General information. 2 - Water supply. 3 - System components. 4 - System design. 5 - Limited area dwellings. 6 - Referenced publications. App. A - Explanatory material App. B - Referenced publications.

37. 13D objectives Limit maximum ceiling temp to 600°F. Limit temp at 5 ’ 3 ” to 200°F. Prevent flashover and keep room of origin tenable to life for 10 minutes. Attain objectives with no more than two sprinklers operating, with density of.04 GPM/sq. foot. No minimum area requirement.

38. Committee recommendations System can be slightly less reliable, with fewer operational features, and be effective Must be substantially less expensive Primary goal: life safety Secondary goal: property safety Should control fire for sufficient escape time – 10 minutes

39. Recommendations Piping, components, hangers must be compatible with residential construction techniques Combined sprinkler/plumbing systems are acceptable from a fire protection standpoint Sprinklers can be omitted in areas of low incidence of fire deaths

40. First edition of 13D in 1975 Based on relatively limited scientific understanding of residential fires and how sprinklers should protect against them Applied technology that was applicable to property protection or commercial, industrial occupancies Was not cost-effective but spurred research and development

41. Full scale tests Discharge rates Spray patterns Response sensitivity Design criteria Ability to maintain tenability to life for escape time

42. Goal: Tenability in room of origin Carbon monoxide concentration 3000 PPM Temperature at breathing level 200°F Oxygen depletion

43. 1980 edition Based on better understanding of residential fires Had a new class of sprinkler Based on different method for calculating minimum water flow

44. Criteria for residential sprinklers Prevent flashover. Turning point in fire for victims, firefighters Maintain 200 o F at eye level Temperature is survivable near the floor 150 o F of moist air will prevent breathing Control fire with one or two sprinklers Allows smaller water supply

45. What Does NFPA 13D Say About Water Supply? Must have enough to meet demand for 10 minutes Acceptable are: Connections to a reliable waterworks system An elevated tank A pressure tank A stored water source with an automatically operated pump

46. Sprinkler incentives Narrower streets Smaller setbacks Smaller water mains Fewer fire hydrants Fewer fire stations

47. WHAT LIES AHEAD

48. 10-20 GPM v. 200 GPM

49. Fire threat, 1-2 family homes Sleeping occupants Small children, elderly and no special exit arrangements Cooking facilities Smoking Unprotected vertical openings

50. House fires A low probability event, but a high- consequence event A reasonably expected risk in this community

51. Flashover is the enemy Flashover - all exposed surfaces in room ignite almost simultaneously Flashover description - flames out the door of room of origin Time to flashover dictated by rate of heat release Synthetics burn twice as hot, twice as fast

52. Time to flashover Measured from time of flaming stage A large portion of fires go to flaming stage quickly Smoldering stage nearly always progresses to flaming May not produce much hot smoke until shortly before flaming

53. Fire cause and time to flashover Unattended cooking Very quickly (25-30 %) Playing with matches Very quickly (13 %) Arson (15%) Very quickly Smoldering cigarette Minutes-hour (20-25%) Heating (15%) Minutes Electrical (10-12%) Minutes-hour

54. Most victims in post- flashover fires are remote from the room of origin

55. Home fires by victim location & extent of flame damage

56. Residential Sprinkler Characteristics Fast response 30-60 seconds v. 120-180 seconds for commercial sprinklers Discharge pattern Hits wall at 12 ” below ceiling Prevents flashover in room of origin Reduces number of critical fireground tasks

57. … characteristics. Responds before room of origin becomes untenable to human life Tenability: Eye-level temp > 150 o F, moist air CO > 3000 ppm Smoke >.5 Optical Density/m

58. House fire at 4842 Oak Street Two-story home Fire in kitchen Source - Electric heater Material ignited - synthetic-lined drapes, spread to cabinets and cupboards

59. Residential fires 23 % of fires 80 % of fire deaths 75 % of fire injuries

60. Events after discovery Family sleeping in upstairs bedrooms Parents awakened (maybe smoke alarm). Mother saw incipient fire, called 911 Smoke, heat blocked mother from returning upstairs, she escaped through front door Father rescued two sons, could not reach third One fatality, four injured

61. Fire growth Flashover occurred 4 minutes after flaming stage Untenable in 2 minutes Fire department arrived 4-5 minutes after call Victim died of CO poisoning

62. Witness statements confirm model results Mother ’ s description Saw curtains on fire Grabbed extinguisher, fire too large Went to living room to call 911 Tried to go back upstairs, stopped by smoke/heat Neighboring firefighter ’ s description Saw fire in kitchen as he started across street In seconds, flames were out front door

63. If sprinklers had been installed No sprinkler Untenability in 123 seconds (smoke, heat, O 2 ) Flashover in 4 minutes, 8 seconds Sprinkler present Sprinkler operated in 68 seconds Ceiling temp = 250F Not enough smoke, heat, CO to make room untenable