In the midst of National Fire Prevention Week, the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department has released a 15-year study on residential fire sprinklers.
The Maryland county was the first in the nation to mandate residential sprinklers in all new construction.
The department believes the study covering data collected between 1992 to 2007 will have an impact on the nation's fire service, homebuilders and residential sprinkler legislation throughout the country.
The study also comes at a pivotal time as advocates are preparing for the meeting of The International Code Council later this month when proposals will be considered to remove language from the International Residential Code requiring fire sprinklers in new construction come 2011.
The hearings are expected to take place Oct. 28-29 during the ICC's annual hearing that is part of the ICC's annual meeting that begins Oct. 24 and ends Nov. 11 at the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md.
In 1987, Prince George's County signed the mandatory fire sprinkler law covering every type of newly constructed residential dwelling, ranging from multi-family structures to townhouses and one- and two-family structures.
Following the final phase of the ordinance in 1992, all newly constructed homes were required to be equipped with fire sprinkler systems.
The report includes data collected from the fire department between 1992 and 2007. During those years, the county recorded a total of 13,494 single-family home and townhouse fires with only 245 of those structures being protected by fire sprinkler systems.
In the fires where fire sprinkler systems were present, no deaths occurred and only six injuries were reported. In the remaining fires that occurred in dwellings without sprinklers, 101 residents were killed and 328 were injured.
Fire deaths in residential dwellings made up 89 percent of fire deaths in Prince George's County for that time span.
The report also analyzes property protection. During the 15-year period, the recorded fire loss for single-family homes and townhouses was $134,711,199. Property loss from the 245 fires with sprinkler systems present accounted for $1,353,820.
The average property loss for fires with sprinkler systems present was $4,883. The average property loss for fires with no sprinklers and no fatalities was $9,983. The average property loss for fires with no sprinklers in which a loss of life occurred was $49,503.
The study concludes that "Prince George's County's experience of suffering no loss of life in a sprinklered home should provide ample justification for other jurisdictions throughout the country to pass similar ordinances."
