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When one fire sprinkler head goes off to fight a
fire the entire sprinkler system does NOT activate. Sprinklers
react to temperatures in individual rooms.
The chances of a fire sprinkler accidentally going off are
extremely remote.
Installation of fire sprinklers can provide discounts on
insurance premiums.
The costs for installing fire sprinkler systems in buildings 6
to 8 stories high ranges from under a dollar to about $2.00 per
square foot in most new construction and from about $1.50 to
$2.50 per square foot for retrofitting sprinklers in existing
buildings.
The installation of fire sprinklers in new residential
construction is estimated to make up around 1% of the total
building cost. (Similar to the cost of new carpet)
Over 200 U.S. communities have residential sprinkler laws.
Roughly 100 of these communities are in California. In downtown
Fresno for example, there has been fire damage of only $42,000
during a 10-year period in which its sprinklering law has been
in effect.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, property
damage in hotel fires was 78% less in structures with sprinklers
than it was in structures without sprinklers during the years
1983-87. (Average loss per fire was $2,300 in sprinklered
buildings and $10,300 in unsprinklered buildings.)
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