Describe the public's misconceptions about residential sprinklers and the evidence that dispel them.

Automatic Sprinkler Devices: Debunking Myths

Automatic sprinkler devices have been used to secure people's lives as well as property for over a century. However, they are not widely used because of the myths surrounding them. To begin with, some people assume that the damage caused by fire is more tolerable than the damage caused by water from the sprinkler system. In reality, the damage caused by sprinkler water is less severe than the damage caused by the water used by firefighters through hose pipes. That is still smaller than the harm that will be caused if flames erupted uncontrollably. Sprinkler releases up to twenty-four gallons of water every minute while a hose pipe releases up to a hundred and twenty-five gallons in every minute.

Misconceptions About Sprinkler Activation

Another major misconception is that in the case of fire, every head on the sprinkler goes off. On the contrary, each head is activated separately by temperatures that are above a hundred and fifty-five degrees. In most instances, only one head is used to control residential fires. Moreover, research indicated that in all the fires that had occurred, eighty-two percentage of them were controlled by less than two heads (Ford, 2012).

Smoke Detectors: Limitations and their Combination with Sprinklers

Other individuals believe that a smoke detector alone is sufficient to provide protection against fire. On the contrary, smoke detectors are used to provide an early warning in case of a fire breakout but are not usable in extinguishing the fire. They are also not efficient in protecting those that cannot escape from fire such as children, disabled or older adults. In most instances, smoke detectors have been known to fail when the batteries are dead. In such situations, not only are they not able to protect against fire, but they were also not able to provide early warnings about fire breakouts. Moreover, a combination of fire warning and sprinkler can be more effective in protecting both property and lives from fire.

The Importance of Code Enforcement in Community Risk Reduction

Explain the importance of code enforcement and pre-fire planning in the community risk reduction process.

Code enforcement refers to ways and means that have been put in place to ensure that every member of the community complies with the laws and regulations that have been laid down for fire prevention. It has been used as a tool that ensures compliance with codes, regulations, laws and conducts in the case of fire. Some of the actions associated with code enforcement include inspection, research, analysis as well as public education.

Notably, inspection is a key step towards fire prevention. Code enforcement, on the other hand, acts as a backbone in fire inspections. Fire prevention acts as a most effective tool in keeping the community safe from fire incidents. Although firefighters do some great work in containing the fire, in most instances, the damage is always done. As a matter of fact, the only way or preventing damage from fire and protecting lives is only through fire prevention. A strong code enforcement ensures that fire inspections are thorough and thereby, the number of fire breakouts are minimized. As a result, massive destruction is contained even before if happens (COFFMAN, 2013).

The Significance of Pre-Fire Planning

Pre-fire planning is equally important in preventing fire breakouts. Planning involves assessing the possibility of risk occurrence and taking preventing measures. Incident data is useful in risk assessment, and it provides enough information to ensure informed decision making. Such decisions include; the number of fire stations to set up n every community, the equipped to be installed in the fire stations as well as in homesteads such as smoke detectors and sprinklers and also the availability of emergency response. Risk assessment provides information on the areas that are impacted by emergency response and thereby prevent these risks from happening (Crawford, 2014).

References

Crawford, J. (2014). Community Risk Reduction. Firerescuemagazine.com. Retrieved from http://www.firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-9/issue-12/fire-prevention-and-education/community-risk-reduction.html

COFFMAN, B. (2013). Code Enforcement: Critical for a Successful Fire Prevention Program. Fireengineering.com. Retrieved from http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-166/issue-01/features/code-enforce-critic-success-fire-prevent-prog.html

Ford, T. (2012). Fire and emergency services safety and survival. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.