TO: The Automatic Fire Sprinkler Industry
FROM: AFSA Chairman of the Board Jack Viola
DATE: March 4, 1998
RE: Omega Sprinklers (3 pages total)

Following are statements regarding the Omega Sprinkler issue that were released this morning by the Consumer Products Safety Commission and Central Sprinkler Company. We want to make you aware of the most recent actions on this issue, which has been developing over the past two years.

The CPSC statement was released this morning in a press conference, and over their web page. For that reason we think there is a possibility that many of our members and others involved in the automatic fire protection industry may receive telephone calls from customers, Authorities Having Jurisdiction, and/or the local media. The following information, which was recently sent by Operation Life Safety to fire authorities around the country in an effort to further educate them on the issue, may be helpful to you in responding to any calls.

Fire sprinklers have a superior record. They have been installed in buildings since 1898, and about 30 million sprinkler heads are now installed each year. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that there have been no instances of multiple fatalities in buildings protected with sprinklers. Fire sprinklers for residential dwellings have been available since 1980. Jurisdictions that require sprinklers in homes report that there have been zero fire deaths in homes protected with sprinklers.

Omega sprinkler heads represent less than two percent of the total number of sprinkler heads in use (8.5 million out of over 500 million). The vast majority of sprinkler systems, therefore, are extremely reliable and will provide the expected high degree of life and property safety.

Sprinklers are activated by heat from a fire. The sprinkler nearest the fire will open and control the fire with a very small amount of water. Compared to fires in buildings without sprinklers, fires in sprinklered buildings cause much less property and water damage (nine to 10 times less).

Fire sprinklers protect firefighters as well as civilians because they quickly control or extinguish the fire before firefighters arrive.

Fire sprinklers conserve water and fire department resources. Fires in sprinklered buildings require one tenth the amount of water and about one half the number of firefighters and apparatus. Because the sprinklers quickly extinguish the fire (or control it to a small size and area), the fire attack lines may not be needed. Also, occupants near the fire often do not need to be rescued and occupants in other areas of the building often do not need to evacuate, further reducing the demand on responding firefighters.

If you are uncomfortable with the legal implications of responding to their questions, we suggest you refer them directly to Central Sprinkler Corp. (1-800-638-1531).

Once this issue becomes more publicized, it is very likely that AFSA contractor members will be called upon to help identify Omega type sprinklers. We urge our contractor members to wholeheartedly cooperate with these requests.