BURN AWARENESS WEEK: February 6-12, 2011

The Battle Rages On - Adopting Model Building Codes for Residential Fire Sprinklers

Many burn injuries are avoidable, and our community of burn survivors and professional members are actively helping prevent burn injuries. Burn Survivors and those working in burn centers across the country know that the most devastating burn injuries we see are often the result of home fires. So it is critical that we support the adoption of the building codes for new housing that includes fire sprinklers. California and Pennsylvania are the first states to adopt the 2009 building codes which include a mandate for fire sprinklers in all new home construction as of January 1, 2011. There are several local communities who have also adopted and require fire sprinklers in new construction across the country. These gains in burn and fire safety are being threatened.

Advocates worked very hard to fight off the home builder's effort to strip fire sprinklers from the building code in PA. They tried every tactic possible to stop the code from being adopted in PA. They fought at the code committee level, in the state legislature, filed a lawsuit and made their voice heard in the media. Fortunately, the facts and concern about life safety remained the bottom line in PA not the concern over the profits of one interest group. The code went into effect January 1. Now with a new legislature in place PA advocates are again fighting this battle as home builders try to turn back this progress in fire and life safety. The coalition has been successful so far because a strong group of fire fighters are leading the charge with help from the survivor community, burn center and foundation staff. They have so far been able to counter the errant messages of the home builders at the state capital. But they need our help.

The burn community must weigh in on the public debate about fire sprinklers. We must share our knowledge and expertise regarding the tremendous cost to our communities when citizens are burn injured in home fires. The focus so far has been on the deaths from home fires but there are over 12,000 people who are burned each year in home fires. Adding this part of the story helps officials understand the broader impact and costs to their communities if we continue to build homes without this affordable technology. The cost of one day of critical care on the average burn center is more than the cost to sprinkler an average size new home.

We need to be out there sharing this information with the public in Op-Ed pieces, in our local papers, testifying at code hearings, writing letters to code officials or legislators because our voice must be heard if we are to counter the builders powerful state lobbying efforts. There are wonderful resources listed below to help you be efficient and on message with your efforts. Our job is burn care and burn prevention - if we don't do it who will stand up for those injured by home fires? Burn centers and local burn foundations are well positioned to be part of the team working to assure homes are built safer for our children. As the expert in burn recovery we need you to join the Fire Sprinkler Initiative - the Time is Now! Learn more at www.firesprinklerinitiative.org.