[Sponsored content] Don’t be a statistic—Protect your home from fire

Sponsored by Louisiana Fire Extinguisher Inc.

 

Every 85 seconds, a home burns in the United States, and every year more than 3,000 lives are lost in those fires. Sarah Grace Brooks, CEO of Louisiana Fire Extinguisher Inc. explains how to better manage the risk. This family-owned company was the first in the state to receive a Louisiana Fire Marshall 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%,” Brooks 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 benefits: Brooks notes that a home fire sprinkler system can reduce homeowners’ insurance rates by 5% to 25%. Home fire sprinklers could soon become code-mandated in new-home construction in Louisiana, but retro-fitting older homes is a wise decision.



Misconceptions about sprinkler systems prevent people from including 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,” says Brooks. “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 Sarah Grace Brooks at sgrace@louisianafire.com or 225.924.2421 to learn more about protecting your home or business.