Second Meeting of the National Residential Fire Sprinkler Initiative 
Summary of Meeting, June 30 and July 1, 2004 
United States Fire Administration 
Emmitsburg, MD 
By James A. Milke, Ph.D., P.E. 
Meeting Facilitator 
July 30, 2004 

Background 

A second meeting of interested parties in residential sprinkler systems was held 
in Emmitsburg, MD. The principal intent of the meeting was to share thoughts and 
review the progress of the collective group of participants and their 
organizations toward increasing the proportion of U.S. homes protected by 
residential sprinkler systems. Meeting attendees represented a wide range of 
fire protection organizations and had a diverse set of backgrounds (see Appendix 
A for a list of attendees). 

Recent Progress 

Reviews of current program areas and future plans to encourage the increased use 
of residential sprinkler technology in U.S. residences were presented and 
discussed. The program areas and future plans were related to the four 
initiatives developed at the first meeting in April 2003 on the National 
Residential Fire Sprinkler Initiative, including: 

- Develop aggressive strategy for advocating residential sprinkler systems in 
occupancies the Federal government influences or supports financially, 
especially manufactured housing or health care facilities. 
- Based on research, data and proof of concept, advocate localized fire 
suppression in high fire risk areas (e.g., kitchens) for retrofit applications. 
- Provide advocacy and informational support among partners, State and local 
decision makers, finding a common agenda on behalf of the protected public. 
- U.S. Fire Administrator continue to support research and development and 
associated programs aimed at advances in residential fire sprinkler technology 
for the increased acceptance of residential fire sprinkler systems. 

An overview of the accomplishments over the last year, ongoing activities and 
future efforts pertaining to each of the initiatives addressed at the first 
meeting is presented in the subsequent sections of this report. 

1. Develop aggressive strategy for advocating residential sprinkler systems in 
occupancies the Federal government influences or supports financially, 
especially manufactured housing or health care facilities (Milke, J.A., 
"National Residential Fire Sprinkler Initiative - Summary of Meeting April 9-10, 
2003," United States Fire Administration, Emmitsburg, MD, May 5, 2003. )

The two following ongoing activities where identified as relating to this 
initiative, both being conducted by U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) staff: 

- Federal Fire Working Group 

A meeting of the Federal Fire Working Group including representatives from 
several agencies of the Federal government who influence construction practices 
or maintain residential facilities was convened to discuss the merits of 
residential sprinklers. The agencies represented included Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, Veterans 
Administration, Department of Defense, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 
and USFA. There was widespread acknowledgement of the benefits provided by 
residential sprinklers. However, none of the attendees from the other agencies 
appeared able to direct a change in their agency's policy or regulations that 
would mandate residential sprinklers in residences within their purview. A 
possible tact to encourage a widespread change in policy at the Second Meeting 
(To avoid confusion, where the outcome of a particular meeting was discussed at 
the Second Meeting of National Residential Fire Sprinkler Initiative, the latter 
meeting is referred to as the "Second Meeting".) was to consider proposing an 
adaptation of the hotel/motel act for residences within the purview of Federal 
agencies. 

- College campus fire safety: 

There are several videos available as well as a magazine, Campus Fire Watch, 
that addresses the issue of sprinklers in both on-campus (e.g. dormitories) and 
off-campus dormitories (apartments and fraternity and sorority housing). One of 
the noted challenges is to have residential sprinklers installed at privately 
owned, off-campus housing, including fraternity and sorority houses. Nationally, 
all 16 fire deaths of college students were reported to have died last year in 
privately owned, off-campus housing. Some states (NJ being the first) have 
adopted policies of providing residential sprinkler protection in all student 
housing. 

NIST has a project investigating the benefits of sprinkler protection for 
sleeping rooms and day rooms in dormitories. The study on day rooms has been 
completed (NISTIR 7120), with the report on sleeping rooms expected in the 3rd 
quarter of 2004. The sponsor for this effort is USFA. Reports from NIST are 
available at www.fire.nist.gov. 

2. Based on research, data and proof of concept, advocate localized fire 
suppression in high fire risk areas (e.g., kitchens) for retrofit applications 

NIST has initiated a research project with support from USFA and HUD (as well as 
a contribution from NIST) to investigate localized residential fire suppression 
systems. The research effort has four principal tasks: 

- Characterize kitchen fire hazards 
- Investigate "passive" and "active" fire protection systems for kitchens 
- Conduct full-scale experimental evaluations of candidate fire protection 
systems 
- Identify design limitations for single sprinkler retrofits for kitchens 

Relative to the first task, kitchens are the: 

- Leading area of origin of number of residential fires, being 31% of 
residential structures, and number of residential burn injuries 
- 3rd most frequent area of origin for residential fire deaths 

According to the experience of a local contractor who specializes in residential 
sprinkler systems, 90 percent of the sprinkler activations of the systems 
installed by that company have been in the kitchen. Conducting a survey with 
multiple contractors or jurisdictions from around the country to expand this 
experience base would provide additional information concerning the need for 
automatic suppression capabilities in kitchens. 

The fire characteristics of kitchen fire scenarios were explored in the NIST 
project. Passive fire protection strategies for kitchens were explored, 
including: 

- Spacing of hazards 
- Wall, cabinet and appliance coverings 
- Materials comprising appliances 
- Coatings, i.e. intumescent paints that were shown to significantly reduce the 
heat release rates of materials in bench scale testing. 

In full-scale fire experiments, while intumescent paints delayed fire spread, 
similar upper layer smoke temperatures were measured in the kitchen with and 
without intumescent paint. 

Active protection strategies explored in the research effort included: 

- Range Hood Systems (dry and wet chemical) 
- Localized Suppression Systems: single low flow sprinkler in kitchen (including 
pendent and sidewall sprinklers). 

The dry chemical system was able to extinguish the test fires, though flames 
needed to impinge on the device in order to activate the system. The pilot flame 
was extinguished in some tests and the area protected by the system was limited 
to the stove top. 

The wet chemical system also extinguished the test fires within seconds of auto-
ignition and prior to full pan fire development. However, a potential for re-
ignition was present and the area protected was limited to the stove top as with 
the dry chemical system. 

The single sprinkler suppressed fires, though a larger fire was required to 
activate the sprinklers as compared to the dry and wet chemical range units. 
Another positive aspect of the sprinkler option was that it was able to provide 
protection for the entire kitchen area. 

Future research plans include examining design options and limitations for 
retrofitting a single sprinkler in a kitchen, including topics such as a 
continuation of the assessment of sprinkler performance and assessing the 
characteristics of the water supply. 

3. Provide advocacy and informational support among partners, State and local 
decision makers, finding a common agenda on behalf of the protected public 

Numerous efforts were described by several of the meeting participants that 
relate to this initiative. Most of the efforts were ongoing, though some had 
been completed within the last year and some are planned to be initiated in the 
near future. An overview of these efforts is provided in this section, organized 
alphabetically by the lead organization for the effort. 

American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) 

AFSA is developing a training program on the installation of residential 
sprinklers. This course is intended for sprinkler contractors to help them 
facilitate a transition from the commercial to the residential market. AFSA has 
also developed a program for residential developers and homebuilders. 

Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) 

HFSC is developing an educational program, "Built for Life," for homebuilders 
that will be funded by FEMA grant money which they received last month. This 
program will be a national education program geared for a variety of markets, 
especially bigger markets. The objective of the program is to provide sprinkler 
protection in model homes in at least 10 states. Target states for the program 
include MD, CT and FL. The education program consists of a kit including a 
videotape and information package for builders (another kit is already available 
for consumers). The information is also to be disseminated through 
advertisements, including TV, print media, direct mailings and their web site. 

HFSC has a 900 sq. ft. booth for show demonstrations at National Association of 
Homebuilders (NAHB) conferences and similar venues. Recently, most home 
builders and contractors have had a positive attitude toward this display (this 
is a noticeable change from the negative response received in the early years 
when HFSC first exhibited at the NAHB meeting). 

HFSC has developed a good relationship with the Habitat for Humanity (H4H) to 
encourage the installation of residential sprinklers in their projects. 

International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) 

The Fire and Life Safety section of the IAFC has initiated a public education 
effort on the merits of residential sprinklers. The IAFC/Fire and Life Safety 
Section has taken the position that selling/encouraging the concept of 
residential sprinklers will get a better response than through mandates. 

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 

Chris Dubay has been active in making presentations at American Water Works 
Association (AWWA) meetings on backflow and sprinklers. Meeting attendees 
are noted as being increasingly receptive to the presentations. Copies of the 
presentations have been requested by various magazines for publishing. 

NFPA and National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) have been working 
together on a joint NFPA/AWWA committee to rewrite AWWA Manual 31, 
which addresses flow and cross-connection requirements, backflow, standby fees 
and other topics addressing domestic supplies for residential sprinkler systems 
(Dubay is Chair of the committee). Balloting of the proposed revisions to Manual 
31 is expected in 2005. 

National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) 

A resource document Residential Sprinklers: A Step by Step Guide for Residential 
Communities has been completed by the NFSA. The document is available in 
printed form from the NFSA or via their Web site: www.NSFA.org. The 
document is intended to provide assistance to local fire chiefs when proposing 
ordinances mandating residential sprinklers, including case studies and 
information resources. 

Residential Fire Safety Institute (RFSI) 

RFSI continues to advocate residential fire safety/sprinklers through the 
Operation Life Safety newsletter, public presentations and their website. RFSI's 
principal focus is to assist in the development of ordinances. 

A two-year project was started last fall to examine fire incident data for cases 
where at least one residential sprinkler operated. Approximately 60 incidents 
are now included in their database from fire incidents in a wide variety of 
residential buildings. The sprinkler system designs in the fire incidents 
collected have been based on NFPA 13, 13D and 13R. The final report for the 
project will be made available on the National Association of State Fire 
Marshals, RFSI and USFA websites. 

RFSI has made presentations at NAHB and American Association of Retired 
Persons (AARP) meetings and continues to develop a relationship with these 
organizations. 

Scottsdale Fire Department 

As of July 1, 2004, a total of 46,000 single-family homes will have residential 
sprinkler protection, representing about 55 percent of the homes in Scottsdale, 
AZ. A report is under development that will document the 20 years of experience 
of the widespread implementation of residential sprinklers. Communities near 
Scottsdale have recent formed a coalition to develop ordinances for future 
developments. 

Plans are being developed for a downtown revitalization that may pose a 
significant challenge to the implementation of residential sprinklers throughout 
Scottsdale. Incentives in the form of tax rebates are being considered to help 
encourage residential sprinklers to be installed in this area. 

A good relationship has been developed with the local water department in 
Scottsdale. Such good relationships with other municipal departments were noted 
as being invaluable in order to develop a base of support for residential 
sprinklers in the community. 

The current cost estimate for the installation of a residential sprinkler system 
in Scottsdale is about $0.70 per sq. ft., with the cost of protecting custom 
homes being about $1.00 per sq. ft. The design requirements for the system are 
consistent with NFPA 13D, except for the mandate to protect garages because of 
the relatively high frequency of fires that originate in the garage. Also, a 
local bell, mounted on the exterior of the home was required. 

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) 

SFPE has endorsed the pending legislation, HR 1824, (Fire Incentive Act of 2003) 
and continues to monitor proposed legislation, both nationally and locally. SFPE 
has issued a press release on the proposed legislation and has received 
inquiries on the legislation from the media.(Multiple organizations are involved 
in monitoring proposed legislation being considered by Congress. Of particular 
current interest is the Sprinkler Tax Initiative Legislation, HR1824. This 
proposed bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify 
automatic sprinkler systems as 5-year property for purposes of depreciation.) 

Several SFPE chapters have worked with H4H to assist with the design and 
installation of residential sprinklers in H4H projects. 

USFA 

Posters for a public education campaign on the benefits of residential 
sprinklers are under development with USFA support. Preliminary designs were 
displayed which referred to sprinklers as the homeowners "best friend" and used 
familiar icons to indicate "life", "loved ones", and "property". The preliminary 
poster designs were critiqued at the meeting, with suggestions encouraging that 
families be highlighted and perhaps consider mothers as the principal audience. 

USFA has attended meetings with the following group of allied professionals: 

1. Charlie Dickinson met with participants at the Metro Chiefs conference in 
Calgary, Canada. They voted unanimously to support residential 
sprinklers. 

2. USFA staff members attended the Public-Private Fire Safety Council 
meeting in Washington, DC. NAHB and USFA representatives debated 
the statistics presented by the other organization. Despite the debate, a 
decision was made to meet again and continue the dialogue. One point of 
concern for NAHB is the difficulty they may have with their constituency 
if they go on record as promoting residential sprinklers. Such a position 
could imply that the homes being built are not "safe". A possible alternative 
approach in presenting this information to NAHB and their constituents would be 
to justify the installation of residential sprinklers as a response to the 
hazard posed by the contents, which is independent of the structure. (On several 
occasions during the meeting, attendees identified that an increasing proportion 
of homebuilders supported residential sprinklers. It was reported that one 
homebuilder in Illinois was giving out information about sprinklers, with 35 
percent of purchasers electing the option of installing residential 
sprinklers. ) 

3. USFA sponsored a panel discussion at a meeting of the Prevention 
Advocacy Resources and Exchange (PARADE). A good exchange of 
information was provided at the meeting, with a positive response 
received. 

4. The USFA also was involved in another meeting of significance at the 
main office of the American Insurance Association in Washington, DC. 
USFA provided input to a front page article about residential sprinklers for 
the Association newsletter. The Association has been supportive of 
residential sprinklers. As part of a data collection effort, Association 
members offered to start collecting data on water damage from flooding, 
i.e. from hot water heaters, sprinklers, and other sources. One of the 
meeting attendees noted that State Farm Insurance has built a "smart 
house" that has addressed some of the water damage claim issues that they 
are encountering. 

5. USFA staff attended a meeting with the American Institute of Architects. 
Avenues for disseminating information were explored, with the short-term 
result being the availability to provide a display at the annual conference 
in May 2005. The Institute appeared particularly interested in applications 
involving the preservation of historic or archival materials. 

6. USFA staff met with representatives of AARP. Statistics on residential 
fires were provided to AARP. An article for the AARP magazine is under 
development. 

The NFA has several existing courses which refer to residential sprinklers, 
others are under development, and still more are in the proposal stage. The 
identified courses include: 

Existing courses 
Plans Review for Inspectors 
Fire Inspection Principles 
Principles of Fire Protection: Structures and Systems. 

Courses under development 
Changing American Family at Risk 
Residential Fire Sprinklers: A Community Approach to Enhanced Fire 
and Life Safety. 

Courses may be offered via a distance mode in the near future, either in total, 
or perhaps as a pre-course assignment. 

A pilot offering of a course, Fire Protection Systems for Incident Commanders, 
(scheduled to be offered in the near future) contains information on residential 
sprinklers. Over 400 applications were received for the 50 available participant 
slots for the pilot. 

USFA (through the Fire Grants Program) is supporting conversion of an SFPE/ 
International Fire Marshals Association course, Principles of Fire Protection 
and Engineering to a distance format. The course addresses residential 
sprinklers in parts of two modules in the course, 

4. U.S. Fire Administrator continue to support research and development and 
associated programs aimed at advances in residential fire sprinkler technology 
for the increased acceptance of residential fire sprinkler systems 

The research topics being conducted at National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) include: 

- Sprinkler Activation Under Sloped Ceilings: The objective of this project is 
to evaluate the impact of sloped and beamed ceilings on the activation of 
residential sprinklers. This project has consisted of conducting experiments and 
numerical simulations with the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) model. Two ceiling 
slopes were investigated. The results obtained from the research include: the 
sloped ceiling decreased activation times, except if the fire source burner was 
placed in the corner; beams increased the sprinkler activation times and 
temperatures at an elevation of 5 ft above the floor and FDS predicts activation 
times within 4 to 26 % of the measured values. 

The final report for the effort is available (NISTIR 7079) (Sponsor: USFA) 

- Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Residential Sprinklers: The objective 
of this project is to characterize residential sprinklers in terms needed for 
FDS input (droplet size, velocity vector) and demonstrate the performance of 
sprinklers via simulations with FDS. (Sponsor: USFA and NIST) 

- Residential Sprinkler Design Criteria: The objective of this project is to 
investigate "a single sprinkler design option" for residential sprinkler systems 
in an effort to optimize the design requirements and encourage the further use 
and installation of residential sprinkler systems. Current challenges include 
water authority issues, water supply limits, and concerns over increased water 
requirements. A single sprinkler design option which handles most residential 
fires is under investigation. (Sponsor: USFA) 

Future Directions 

Several action items were identified as being important for the continued 
improvement in the perceptions and acceptance rate of residential sprinklers. 
These action items were discussed as supplementing the ongoing activities noted 
in the previous section. The action items are organized in the following five 
categories. 

Water supply/system design 

Water supply for residential sprinkler systems continues to be a significant 
point of consideration. Efforts to reduce the required water supply (i.e. low 
flow systems) are continuing by NIST. The required water supply to meet recently 
adopted 0.05 gpm/ft2 design density requirement may be greater than the prior 
18/13 gpm requirements in cases where extended coverage sprinklers are used. 

Backflow valves are needed for some applications and not for others, as a result 
of each region having their local standards established by the local water works 
association. Development of cost-effective means to supplement the domestic 
water supply needs to be encouraged. Information on the use of wells, including 
assessing the adequacy of the supply systems from the well, needs to be 
developed. 

In situations where piping needs to be installed in unheated areas, antifreeze 
systems are currently the only acceptable option. However, antifreeze systems 
are expensive, requiring the use of a backflow preventer. Also, where an 
ethylene glycol-based antifreeze solution is used, compatibility with piping 
materials is a significant problem. Research into the performance of dry systems 
is needed to assess whether a dry system could be a viable option to the 
antifreeze system. 

A compilation of the characteristics of meters, pressure reducing valves and 
backflow preventers needs to be formulated and made available in information 
kits for designers. NFPA, AFSA and NFSA agreed to coordinate activities to 
expand any existing material on this issue and also to make any resulting 
document available. 

Cost-Benefit Analysis. 

The previous cost-benefit analysis for residential sprinklers was conducted over 
20 years ago. This study needs to be updated with current cost figures and also 
with actual performance data from fire incidents. Considering that few 
residential sprinkler systems had been installed when the previous report was 
done, an updated cost-benefit analysis could rely on data from actual 
installations and experiences. The experience at Scottsdale was identified as a 
valuable resource. A related new project was initiated at NIST last month 
(supported by USFA).  The focus of that cost-benefit analysis is to compare a 
more traditional sprinkler system with a multipurpose system version. 

Concerning the limited area systems, e.g. for kitchens, the report from last 
year's suggested that a proof of concept report be developed on these systems. 
Such a proof of concept paper should be assembled with the information that can 
be compiled at this point. 

Collaboration of the Organizations 

Collaboration of the organizations attending the meeting was noted as being very 
valuable. As such, another meeting of the organizations in the future would be 
very useful. The group of organizations represented could be expanded to include 
additional organizations such as: 
- American Society of Plumbing Engineers 
- AWWA 
- Habitat for Humanity 
- NAHB 
- National Realtors Association 

As an increasing number of H4H homes are being protected with residential 
sprinklers, tracking the performance of residential sprinklers in these homes 
would appear to be a valuable resource if pursued. As the construction of the 
homes is often covered by local news reports, the residential sprinkler system 
could be presented as a highlight. Further, any sprinkler activations in these 
homes could be included in a database. 

Continued work with the insurance industry was proposed in two areas. First, the 
Insurance Services Office does not acknowledge the installation of residential 
sprinklers that protect a major portion of community homes. Second, concerns 
for water damage from false activations and mold claims appear to be growing. 
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) offered to study the issue of 
insurance recognition for residential sprinklers and concerns for water damage. 

Education 

Educational institutions should be sought out as an ally. As an example, a 
display on residential sprinklers could be provided at the annual Fire and 
Emergency Services Higher Education conference. A sprinkler initiative should be 
included in Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 training. Information to colleges 
and universities to include information on residential sprinklers in 
architecture and engineering curricula would also be beneficial. 

USFA Position Statement 

In order to maintain a leadership position in the national debate on residential 
sprinklers, the collaborating organizations indicated that continued strong 
advocacy statements from the Administrator are very beneficial to help support 
the activities of the collaborating organizations when they are advocating 
sprinklers. Frequent mention of this advocacy statement from the USFA is 
beneficial and as such including it in annual reports, such as the Fire in the 
USA series would also be very helpful. 

Appendix A. Attendees 

Jim Milke (moderator) 
UMD 
milke@umd.edu 

Alex Furr 
USFA 
Alex.Furr@dhs.gov 

Larry Maruskin 
USFA 
Larry.Maruskin@dhs.gov 

Woody Stratton 
USFA 
Woody.Stratton@dhs.gov 

Kerry Bell 
UL 
Kerry.M.Bell@US.UL.com 

Jim Dalton 
NFSA 
dalton@nfsa.org 

Christian Dubay 
NFPA 
cdubay@nfpa.org 

Jim Ford 
Scottsdale Fire Dept., AZ
Jim_Ford@Rmetro.com 

Chris Jelenewicz 
SFPE 
cjelenewicz@sfpe.org 

Gary Keith 
HFSC 
gkeith@nfpa.org 

Dan Madrzykowski 
NIST 
madrzy@nist.gov 

Steve Muncy 
AFSA 
smuncy@firesprinkler.org 

Roy Marshall 
RFSI 
rfsirlm@netins.net 

Alan W. Perdue 
IAFC 
aperdue@co.guilford.nc.us 

Robert Timko 
NVFC 
btimko@msn.com 

Ben Vincent 
FM Global 
Bennie.vincent@fmgobal.com 

Bill Webb 
Congressional Fire Services Institute 
bwebb@cfsi.org 

Appendix B. List of Abbreviations 

AARP American Association of Retired Persons 
AFSA American Fire Sprinkler Association 
AWWA American Water Works Association 
CPSC Consumer Product Safety Commission 
FDS Fire Dynamics Simulator 
H4H Habitat for Humanity 
HFSC Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition 
IAFC International Association of Fire Chiefs 
NAHB National Association of Homebuilders 
NFPA National Fire Protection Association 
NFSA National Fire Sprinkler Association 
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology 
NVFC National Volunteer Fire Council 
RFSI Residential Fire Safety Institute 
SFPE Society of Fire Protection Engineers 
USFA U.S. Fire Administration