Save Natural Resources By Installing A Fire Sprinkler In Your Home
Fire sprinklers are put in homes to help save lives, and there's no better reason for installing them in residences. This isn't the only benefit that fire sprinklers have, though. They also help the environment. Most people are aware that fire sprinklers can save lives. Here's a look at how installing one in your residence could also be good for the environment.
Fire Sprinklers Save Natural Resources
Fire sprinklers save natural resources by reducing how much property damage fires cause. According to the NFPA, fire sprinklers limit the amount of damage that fires cause by 70 percent. Moreover, they can often control -- and sometimes extinguish -- a fire until a fire truck arrives so that the fire can't spread and cause more damage.
All of the property that a fire sprinkler saves is property that doesn't need to be replaced. Replacing this property would have required building new items from natural resources. Thus, when a fire sprinkler reduces how much damage a fire causes, it's saving the following natural resources:
- trees, which would otherwise be needed to make new studs and rafters
- fossil fuels, which would otherwise be needed to manufacture plastics that personal items are made from
- gold and other precious metals, which would otherwise be needed to make new computer chips and other electronics
This is just a glimpse of what resources a fire sprinkler might help save. Every item and part of a house that's destroyed by a fire was made from some resource, and more of that resource will be needed to replace the burnt possessions and pieces. Everything a sprinkler system protects will directly lead to a natural resource that is saved.
Fire Sprinklers Save Water
One of the main natural resources fire sprinklers save is water. Not only is water needed to make many of the items in a home, but it's also used to fight fires. Fire sprinklers use a lot less water than fire trucks do to fight fires.
The NFPA claims that a fire sprinkler can reduce how much water is needed to fight a fire by as much as 91 percent. When fighting a house fire, this equates to a lot of water saved. Mental Floss notes that certain fire trucks hold 500 gallons of water, but this is only enough water to fight a "trash bin fire." A 91-percent reduction of how much water is needed to put out a fire this small would yield a savings of 455 gallons.
When fighting a residential fire, the number of gallons saved would only be larger. Even if just three garbage cans caught on fire, the savings would be 1,365 gallons. If the fire began in a room and spread, it'd be even more.
Fire Sprinklers Save Chemicals
Fire sprinklers also limit how many chemical agents are needed to put out a fire in two ways. First, by using water instead of chemicals, like a fire extinguisher does, fire sprinklers fight fires with natural combatants. Second, by containing the fire, they reduce how many chemical agents firefighters need to use to fight the fire once they arrive.
Your primary reason for considering installing a fire sprinkler in your home is, undoubtedly, safety. There isn't anything more important than the safety of your family. If you have a sprinkler put in, though, know that you'll also be saving the environment. If there is a fire in your home one day, fewer natural resources will be needed to replace what is lost in the fire. The difference may seem small, but every tree, gallon of fossil fuel, piece of gold and gallon of water saved helps the environment.
For more information about having a sprinkler system installed, contact a company like Tri County Fire Protection.
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