A television interview that aired yesterday has sparked a direct response from the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) to the Lee Building Industry Association Executive Vice President in Ft. Myers, Florida.
“As President of the NFSA, I was shocked to hear the descriptive false testimony against our industry,” explains Shane Ray, NFSA President. “When I watched the television interview, I knew we had to reach out in response to the direct quote about ‘stupid sprinklers’, this puts one industry against another within the same field and is very unfortunate.”
The NFSA represents an industry with the most effective life and property saving record from fire and our mission of promoting professionalism and higher standards isn’t much different from the Building Industry.
The NFSA members in Florida also responded to the inaccurate pricing of fire sprinkler installations in Estero, Florida. Our members are ready to work with Lee Building Industry Association members to assist with fire sprinkler installations at an average of $1.60/sq. ft.
“As a Florida business owner in the life safety business I want the homebuilders to know we are ready and willing to help them build the highest quality and safest home possible,” adds Clark Gey, President of Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers and an NFSA Board member. “We know that we can save lives with the installation of fire sprinklers and we also know it can be done affordably and we have examples where homebuilders are partnering with us to build the safest homes.”
Modern building and fire codes require fire sprinklers for a reason. It is the minimal protection for fire and life safety because of the number of lives impacted and the amount of property that would be lost, as we have a vast amount of data proving such.
“Estero Fire Department has spent years investing in education on the life-saving benefits of fire sprinklers,” explains Lorrell Bush, NFSA Florida Regional Manager. “Lives will be saved and quality of life for Village residents improved with this built-in life safety feature for homes. It just makes common sense.”
Education is key as community leaders develop a plan for their community that includes enhancing fire protection. Key stakeholders can identify their community’s vulnerabilities, and
can identify unique solutions that promote life safety and quality of life. The fire officials are leading this community effort, which also includes the public policy maker, building official, fire marshal, and water purveyor. The NFSA hopes to work with community stakeholders, including local media to educate regarding fire sprinklers and how they work in upcoming months.
“We believe we should all be able to partner together for more positive outcomes with fire sprinklers part of the community fire protection solution,” adds Vickie Pritchett, NFSA’s Director of Public Fire Protection & Outreach. “Working together we can build safer communities and we are here to support Estero Fire Department and work with the Lee Building Industry Association for the improvement of fire safety.”
The life saving technology of fire sprinklers has been effective in commercial buildings for over 100 years, and available in residential occupancies for over 30. Resources about fire sprinklers are available at www.nfsa.org – we encourage everyone interested in understanding how fire sprinklers protect citizens and firefighters to visit us and learn more.
