The new Faces of Fire campaign puts a human face on NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative. Plus, legislative updates and new research from the sprinkler front.
As for heater sizing, keep in mind that it can cost 80 to 90 percent more to heat an uninsulated garage compared to one that is well insulated. If you intend on maintaing a comfortable termperature inside the garage during the cold months, insulating is a must. Some homeowners may simply want to take the chill off when tooling around for short periods of time near a workbench or other spat within the garage. In such cases, insulation is not as critical. If insulation is poor, we recommend choosing a heater that is not forced air. In other words, choose an infra-red radiant heater, which produces no drafts and standing beneath it feels just like standing in the sun.Lee-Bridges reentered the home, which the family had purchased only fourth months earlier, and searched frantically for Jennifer. She stayed in the house until she was overwhelmed by smoke and flames, but still managed to make her way outside before collapsing. She had raced back into the house not knowing that firefighters had already rescued Jennifer.A Faces of Fire kickoff event scheduled for October 25 and 26 in Boston, including a sprinkler side-by-side burn demonstration in Weymouth, Massachusetts, was designed to provide an overview of the campaign's new online tool kit, available at firesprinklerinitiative.org/faces, for use by local advocates and fire personnel.Lee-Bridges ran into the living room and saw a fire, which had started when a kerosene heater ignited flooring coated with polyurethane. She tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but it had little effect. She then ran outside to meet Jason and her father, Sylvester. Jennifer wasn't there.Now an advocate for burn survivors, Lee-Bridges has shared her story with South Carolina legislators and code officials in the hope of enacting legislation for residential sprinklers in all new homes. She's the founder of Bridges from Augusta, an organization serving her state's burn survivors. "If I'd had [sprinklers] in my home, we would have had a totally different outcome," she says.In neighboring New Jersey, the state's Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Lori Grifa has rejected an amended /RC that would have required home sprinklers in the state. A New Jersey review commission approved the measure this year after it remained in limbo for months. The provision was then reviewed by Grifa, who issued her final decision in August. "The decision... was the result of weighing and balancing the public benefit against the perceived need," Grifa said in a statement. "In the current economic climate, it is paramount that state agency policies be sensitive to their impact on our economic recovery. The imposition of an additional cost that might impede the recovery of the residential construction sector. . . is a step that cannot be taken at this time."Other options for heating the garage include wall mounted infra-red radiant and forced air heaters. For options, consider Rinnai, a manufacturer of residential vent free radiant heaters, forced air vent free heaters and vented wall heaters. While designed primarily for the dwelling space of the home, these heaters are excellent for garages, small shops, greenhouses, out butildings, cabins and more. When installed in garages, we recommend mounting them at least 2 feet off the floor, which should meet or exceed local codes in most areas of the U.S.The court's opinion for the lawsuit dismissal affirms that Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code, which includes the sprinkler provision, is "an effort to insure uniform, modern construction standards, and regulations, and to promote safety. . .throughout the Commonwealth." The Pennsylvania Residential Fire Sprinkler Coalition, which was closely coordinated with Fire Sprinkler Initiative activities and includes members of the fire service, has played a key role in providing testimony during previous court hearings and backing the sprinkler effort. Similar coalitions have formed in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, and similar but less-formalized efforts are taking place elsewhere.In most areas of the united states, the cost of electricity is higher than the cost of gas. Even so, electric heaters do offer advantages. First, Electric heaters require no flue. If you are concerned about running a new flue through your roof or side wall, an electric heater suspended from the wall or ceiling may be the answer. Second, electric heaters are quieter than gas forced air heaters and produce little vibration. A common concern with forced air is that they are noisier and can transfer vibration through the structure of the house.On the legislative front, legal wrangling initiated by the Pennsylvania Builders Association has turned into a victory for sprinkler advocates. In August, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania officially dismissed a lawsuit filed by the builders association last year, which attempted to stop enforcement of the statewide adoption of the 2009 intmiatiomil Residential Code'* (/RC) that requires fire sprinklers in all new townhouses this year and new one- and two-family homes in the state effective January 1, 201 1. Preceding this decision was a judge's rejection in March of a preliminary injunction filed by the association.8) What is my budget?9) How big is my garage?According to NFPA statistics, approximately 3,000 people die in home fires in the United States each year, accounting for 80 percent of all fire deaths.1) Do I have a gas line available or easily accessible? What about adequate gas pressure?2) If there is no gas, do I have 240V electrical power available or easily accessible?The woman had asked her husband to look at the portable heater in the kitchen, which she said was making "a strange noise." As he started to move the heater outside, however, it "exploded on him." He dropped the heater and escaped, but his wife could not.Virginia's Board of Housing and Community Development also decided in July to exclude a residential sprinkler option from the building code. Last year, the board preliminarily voted to keep residential sprinklers optional but asked the fire service to come up with a possible compromise. The Virginia Residential Sprinkler Coalition did suggest the inclusion of sprinklers in only townhouses, not one- and two-family homes, but the Codes and Standards Committee decided to defer all considerations until the 2012 code review.First, if no gas line available or there is no practical way to get gas to the garage space, your selection process just became a lot easier. That's because your only choice is an electric heater and there are only a few good options. There are several electric heater manufacturers to choose from including Chromalox, Qmark and Fostoria (TPI). These brands offer reliable forced air models suitable for residential and commercial heating. These eletcric space heaters are normally suspended from the ceiling or side wall with optional mounting brackets.Most two or three car garages require between 25,000 and 35,000 BTU's. An electric heater with a rating of 10.0 KW is about right (Note: to convert watts into BTU's, multiply the total watts - in this case 10,000 watts, by 3.413). Remember, electric heaters draw a lot of amps and usally require a dedicated circuit from the electrical panel. Older, smaller homes sometimes have panels that are too small to expand and are unable to accomodate the power requirements of a high amp heater. Check with your electrician to help determine if your panel is adequate. A panel upgrade may be necessary.5) Is my garage insulated?6) What is the ceiling height?
Sprinkler research
Author: Durso, Fred
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