Editor’s Letter
John Mesenbrink, editorial director
editor@plumbingengineer.com
Stating the case for multipurpose plumbing/fire sprinkler systems
R
esidential fires kill nearly 2,500 people each year. In 2009, California home fires killed 44 people and injured 430 including 102 firefighters as reported to the California Office of the State Fire Marshal.
According to information provided by Uponor (
www.uponor-usa.com), a leading supplier of plumbing, fire safety and radiant heating and cooling systems for the residential and commercial build- ing markets in the United States, in response to growing concerns about home-fire fatalities and irrefutable fire- loss data, states such as California and Pennsylvania have adopted national building codes that require fire sprinklers in all newly constructed homes. “We know that fire sprinklers save lives, reduce injuries and decrease property
damage,” explained California Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover, who said this fact is borne out by decades of studies across the nation. In fact, incorporating residential fire sprinklers in the 2010 California Residential Building Code is not new, but rather, formalizes a process already underway, according to National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) Western regional manager Bruce Lecair. “In reality, more than one-third of California already has home sprinklers, so this new code will just accelerate this trend,” said Lecair, referring to the 160 municipalities that have individual fire-sprin- kler ordinances in place. While the need for residential fire sprinklers is clear and the mandate in place
for Californians, builders and home buyers still have a choice in the type of sys- tem they select for their homes. “The goal of any sprinkler system is to suppress the fire long enough for first
responders to arrive, but there are significant differences in fire sprinkler design, performance and maintenance costs,” said Jayson Drake, senior product manager, Plumbing and Fire Safety, for Uponor North America. “Some builders prefer mul- tipurpose fire sprinklers because of their affordability and ease of installation.” A multipurpose system combines the cold-water plumbing and the fire sprin-
kler system into one. The alternative requires three separate sets of pipes – two for the home’s hot- and cold-water plumbing and a third for the standalone fire sprinkler system. Since just two sets of pipes are required, multipurpose systems install up to
65 percent faster and can reduce the cost by as much as 15 percent, compared with traditional systems, explained Drake. n
PLUMBING ENGINEER (USPS 567-950) ISSN 0192-1711
PLUMBING ENGINEER (USPS 567-950) ISSN 0192-1711 is published monthly by TMB Publishing Inc., 2165 Shermer Rd., Suite A, Northbrook, IL 60062. Phone (847) 564-1127, Fax (847) 564-1264. Magazine is free to those who design and specify plumbing/piping systems in commercial, industrial, institutional and governmental buildings; as well as government officials and plumbing inspectors. Subscription rates for U.S. and Canada: $50 for one year, $90 for two years. Other coun- tries: $300 per year. Periodical postage paid at Northbrook, IL, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Change of address should be sent to Plumbing Engineer, 440 Quadrangle Dr., Suite E., Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Material and opin- ions contained in contributed articles are the responsibility of the authors, not of TMB Publishing Inc., Plumbing Engineer magazine or its Editorial Advisory Board. The publisher cannot assume responsibility for any claims made by advertisers. Copyright © 2010 TMB Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Volume 39, Number 5. Plumbing Engineer is microfilmed by University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI, and indexed by Engineering Index Inc. Publications Mail Agreement No. 41499518. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6
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May 2011
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