Fire Sprinklers and
Sustainability
Russell P. Fleming, PE, FSFPE
Managing Director
International Fire Sprinkler Association
International Fire
Sprinkler Association
• Founded in 1999; administered by NFSA
• Co-founder of the European Fire
Sprinkler Network in 2002
• Primary host of international fire sprinkler
conferences in Prague in 2002, Berlin in
2004, Lisbon in 2006, and Copenhagen
in 2008
IFSA Governing Members
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FM Approvals
General Air Prod.
Globe
Job
Lubrizol
Minimax
Potter Electric
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Reliable
Tyco Fire Products
Tyco Fire & Security
Underwriters Labs
Victaulic
Viking
Goals of IFSA
• Development of National and Regional
Organizations to promote the fire sprinkler
concept
• Development of Information Systems to Protect
Product Integrity and Industry Identity
• Delivery of Training and Education
• Enhancement of Codes, Standards and
Legislation
• Growth in Visibility, Membership and Support
Fire Sprinkler Associations
in Latin America
IFSA Panama Conference
• 5-6 February 2014
Sustainability
• From the Latin sustinere –
(tenere - to hold and sus - up)
• Can mean “maintain”, “support”
or “endure”
• Since the 1980’s has primarily
been associated with human
sustainability on Earth
Sustainability and Fire Sprinklers
Q: What are the developers of automatic
sprinkler systems doing to support
sustainability needs of building?
Sustainability and Fire Sprinklers
Q: What are the developers of automatic
sprinkler systems doing to support
sustainability needs of building?
A: Everything the industry does promotes
sustainability, because it results in the
preservation of resources. Unfortunately,
current concepts of sustainability utilize fairly
narrow definitions, resulting in some
advantages being overlooked.
LEED and Fire Sprinklers
• In 2010 the National Fire Sprinkler
Association retained the Green Building
Systems firm in an effort to learn how
recognition of fire sprinkler systems could
be improved within the LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design)
2009 building design and construction
rating systems.
LEED – Materials & Resources
• Credits were available only for materials found
within specific Construction Specifications Institute
(CSI) MasterFormat Divisions.
• No material factors counted with regard to our
Division 21 on Fire Suppression.
• As such, the reused value, the recycled content
value, the regional content value, and the rapidly
renewable content value of our fire sprinkler
systems were simply not pertinent to the
achievement of these credits.
Materials & Resources
• It should be noted that while automatic
sprinkler and other mechanical systems are
exempt from specific requirements for
recycled content, many component
manufacturers have made this information
publically available.
• Some manufacturer’s products, including
sprinklers, valves, and fittings, exceed 90
percent recycled content by weight.
Other LEED Credits?
• Energy and Atmosphere – only the fact that
water-based systems do not contain ozonedepleting substances is noted as positive. Fire
sprinkler systems were not considered within the
energy model and were not addressed within the
LEED measurement and verification aspects.
• Indoor Environmental Quality – possible small
credits with the use of low emitting materials, i.e.
adhesives, sealings, paints and coatings.
Water Efficiency
• The most obvious area for credit
• It was pointed out that if discharge water
were collected for reuse, it could
contribute to credit achievement in the
areas of “water use reduction,” “waterefficient landscaping,” “innovative
wastewater technologies,” and “water use
reduction”
40 Years of Increased Efficiency
• Tremendous gains since the 1972 introduction of
density/area curves to NFPA 13.
• The curves allowed the use of hydraulic
calculations to size the piping for a system based
on the strength of the water supply as opposed to
the previous “one size fits all” pipe schedule
system.
• The use of hydraulic calculations is considered to
have reduced system costs by up to 40 percent
overall, and most of that savings resulted from
smaller pipe sizes.
Other Material & Resource Gains
• 1972 – Combined standpipe and sprinkler risers
• 1973 – Sprinklers with smaller frames
• 1973 – Extended coverage sprinklers
• 1974 – Nonthreaded thinwall steel pipe when
joined by mechanical couplings
• 1978 – Threadable thinwall steel pipe
• 1988 – ESFR sprinklers (eliminating in-rack
sprinkler piping)
Advances in Water Savings
• 1974 – “Room design method”
• 1980 – 2-sprinkler design in NFPA 13D
• 1985 – 4-sprinkler design in residential portions of
other occupancies
• 1989 – 4-sprinkler design for new NFPA 13R
• 1996 – Design area reduction for quick response
sprinklers
• 2010 – Design curves for storage applications
truncated due to availability of larger orifice
sprinklers
Unrecognized Savings
• For other than high-rise buildings, the fire sprinkler
industry in the U.S. successfully championed changes
in the building codes to allow the use of standpipe hose
systems without permanent pumps where the public
water supply can meet the sprinkler system demand.
• The fire department “brings the pump” to the fire in the
event it is needed.
• This represents a tremendous savings in initial and
ongoing energy and water resources, but merits no
LEED credit since it is recognized as a feature of the
building code.
Water Savings in System Testing
• Efforts have been made in Australia to
substantially curtail the amount of water used
in maintaining fire protection systems.
– HB 233-2008 Fire Protection Systems Testing –
Water Conservation Handbook was published to
provide building owners, consultants and system
designers with recommendations for ways to
reduce, re-use or recycle water used to test
sprinkler systems, hydrants, pumps and hose
reels.
– Published as a companion guide to AS 18512005 – Maintenance of fire protection systems
and equipment, the Australian standard.
Recycled Water?
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Main concern is water quality and the potential for
compatibility problems with system components.
Integrating rainwater catchment is common practice
throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere.
If the water is potable, it is considered adequate for use.
Rainwater catchment technology
is similar to the rooftop tanks in
New York City. Domestic water
volume is only accessed down to
a certain level, with only the
sprinkler system having access to
the fire protection reserve toward
the base of the tank.
Sustainability with
Fire Sprinklers
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Of the environment
Of businesses
Of buildings
Of our heritage
Of lives
Of firefighters
Sustainability of the
Environment
In October 2009, the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition
(HFSC) partnered with FM Global in full-scale fire
tests to compare the environmental impact of
sprinklered and non-sprinklered home fires. The
tests showed that in the event of a home fire:
• Greenhouse gas emissions were cut by 97.8%
• Water usage was reduced between 50% and 91%
• Fewer persistent pollutants, such as heavy metals, were
found in sprinkler wastewater versus fire hose water
Sustainability of Businesses
• According to the U.S. Small Business
Administration, 40 to 60% of businesses
never reopen after a disaster
• According to the Electronic Data Systems
Corp. the number is 43%, with only 29%
of those that reopen still operating two
years later
– After the 1993 WTC bombing 150 of 350
affected businesses never reopened
anywhere
Sustainability of Buildings
• Fire data shows the ability of fire
sprinklers to reduce property loss by at
least one-half to two-thirds
Preservation of Resources
Wood High-Rise Buildings
• Being promoted
as a sustainable
approach
• Create an even
greater need for
fire sprinkler
systems
Sustainability of Our Heritage
• Automatic fire sprinkler systems provide the
most practical means of preserving our
historic buildings
Sustainability of Our Heritage
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Sustainability of Our Heritage
Exterior system protecting a historic village in Japan
Sustainability of Lives
• Recent data indicates the ability of fire
sprinklers to reduce fire deaths by more
than 80%
• A four-fold increase in the rate of fire
sprinkler usage in North America
between 1975 and 2000 due to stronger
code requirements is credited with
helping to reduce the rate of life loss to
fires
International Fire Death Rates (source: NFPA)
Fire Death Rates per Million Population
40
Canada
U.S.
U.K.
Japan
Sweden
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
99
97
95
93
91
89
87
85
83
81
79
77
0
The widespread acceptance of fire sprinklers
helped reduce fire losses in the U.S. and Canada
The Fire Sprinkler Record
• There has never been a multiple loss of
life of building occupants from a fire
developing in a building protected by an
automatic fire sprinkler system properly
installed and maintained in accordance
with recognized standards.
Sustainability of Firefighters
• Ten years ago, the National Fallen
Firefighters Foundation organized an effort
to reduce deaths of responding firefighters
• Support of fire sprinklers was among the
16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives
endorsed at that time
Initiative 15 – Advocacy must be
strengthened for the enforcement
of codes and the installation of
home fire sprinklers.
Information on grants and other IFSA
initiatives can be found at:
www.sprinklerworld.org
Thank you
fleming@sprinklerworld.org