Home sprinkler group wins education grant

Sept. 1, 2007
QUINCY, MASS. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition has received a grant award through the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program of the Federal Emergency Management Agencys National Preparedness Directorate. HFSC will use the award to expand local support of home fire sprinkler installations in the U.S. This vital federal funding

QUINCY, MASS. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition has received a grant award through the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Preparedness Directorate.

HFSC will use the award to expand local support of home fire sprinkler installations in the U.S.

“This vital federal funding comes at a pivotal time,” said HFSC Chair Gary Keith. “Our nation is at an important crossroads with regard to residential fire sprinkler protection. To ensure progress, HFSC must step forward now and reach new target audiences with the facts. This grant award makes it possible for HFSC to advance the cause, building on growing national momentum.”

Through the grant award HFSC will help fire departments establish and implement sprinkler education efforts locally, particularly through outreach to key decision-makers, such as local planning officials and water purveyors. HFSC and other safety organizations continuously battle the problem of misinformation and “sprinkler myths,” which negatively impact every level of interest, from consumer to local government decision-makers.

As part of the grant award framework, HFSC will unveil new materials designed to educate and persuade about the life-saving benefits of installing home fire sprinkler systems, including translating the consumer education material into Spanish. In addition to targeting local decision-makers, HFSC will continue its outreach to the older adult housing market — people age 50-plus — students in Kindergarten through eighth grade, real estate and home insurance professionals, and the broad homebuilding industry.

“Since we began our work a decade ago, HFSC has had a powerful and effective partnership with the fire service,” Keith added. “That remains a top priority for us and providing valuable turnkey educational tools to the fire service at no cost to them will remain our priority indefinitely.”

HFSC’s Website, www.homefiresprinkler.org, contains free information and materials, including downloadable video clips, animations, and materials that can be customized for local fire department use.

“We thank FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate for this generous award and for the opportunity it presents to increase HFSC’s national educational efforts,” Keith said. “We look forward to working closely with local leaders in an effort to answer their questions and gain their support for the built-in life safety benefits that fire sprinklers bring to every community.”

HFSC was formed in 1996 to inform the public about the life-saving value of sprinkler protection in one- and two-family homes. HFSC Board members include the American Fire Sprinkler Association, Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association, Home Safety Council, the National Fire Sprinkler Association, the National Fire Protection Association, State Farm Insurance, U.S. Fire Administration and Underwriter’s Laboratories. Additional information is available at www.homefiresprinkler.org.

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