Sponsored by Louisiana Fire Extinguisher Inc.
A home burns every 85 seconds in the U.S. and more than 3,000 lives are lost every year. We spoke to Robert Baker, sprinkler department manager at Louisiana Fire Extinguisher Inc., to learn how to better manage the risk. This family-owned company was the first in the state to receive a Louisiana Fire Marshal license, and has made protection of life and property its business since 1949.
“Fire sprinklers and smoke detectors reduce the risk of death in a fire by 80%,” Baker says. Despite this alarming statistic, few homeowners choose to install this life-saving investment in their home. Besides the obvious safety benefits, doing so also offers financial perks: Baker notes that a home fire sprinkler system can reduce homeowners’ insurance rates by 5% to 25%. Home fire sprinklers will soon become code-mandated in new-home construction in Louisiana, but retro-fitting older homes is a wise decision.
Misconceptions about sprinkler systems often prevent people from implementing one in their home. Common worries include the misconception that a fire in one room will activate the entire system, or that a misfiring sprinkler head will cause excessive water damage.
“Movies always show sprinklers going off everywhere,” Baker says. “In truth, occurrences of misfiring sprinkler heads are extremely rare.” Systems are designed so that only the sprinkler heads directly affected by the heat of a fire become activated, not the whole system.
In most cases, one sprinkler head will contain or extinguish the fire before it grows. Some systems can be designed to alert the local fire department in the case of activation, and others can tie into a home’s security system. Contact Robert Baker at rbaker@louisianafire.com or 225.924.2421 to learn more about protecting your home or business.
