How to advocate for home fire sprinklers

Form letters
Download these fill-in-the-blank form letters and send them to government leaders and other decision-makers to tell them about the critical need for home fire sprinklers in new homes.
  benefits of sprinklers (23 KB) 
cost of sprinklers (27 KB) 
from a fire service representative (27 KB)

Fact sheet
This fact sheet (PDF, 73 KB) explains the anti-sprinkler legislation and what you can do to combat the effort.
Sample petition
Make copies of this sample petition (doc, 44 KB), and then collect signatures in support of a home fire sprinkler ordinance.

One of the goals of the Fire Sprinkler Initiative® is to give home fire sprinkler advocates the tools they need to get local governments to mandate these life-saving systems in all new one- and two-family homes.

NEW! Download our tool kit to educate your community about home fire sprinklers.

Members of the fire service and other safety advocates are in a unique position to influence the legislative process as leaders in the community. They can speak to the death and destruction they see every day caused by home fires and how home fire sprinklers can help reduce these painful losses.

Be informed
Before starting a sprinkler advocacy program, make sure you are informed about the current environment surrounding the issue. Be aware of any recent code updates or changes, recent fires in your community that were neutralized by a successful sprinkler activation, or home fire deaths or injuries that could have been prevented by sprinklers. Check www.firesprinklerinitiative.org or www.homefiresprinkler.org for information.

Build a coalition
Build support by reaching out to other sprinkler advocates in your community. By building a strong grassroots network of supporters, you can create a stronger voice that your local government will find difficult to ignore. This should be a balanced list of advocates that represent a wide variety of groups including, but not limited to:

  • other public safety entities
  • health-related groups
  • religious organizations
  • home-safety advocates
  • skilled trades
  • community service groups
  • friends and neighbors

Once you have these supporting groups on board, be sure to keep them up-to-date on your activities and let them know what they can do to help the cause.

Show support for your issue
Once you have a local coalition, begin showing local elected officials the breadth of support for home fire sprinklers through as many avenues as possible. This can be done by sending letters to elected officials or members of the media, gathering signatures on a petition and presenting it to lawmakers, and encouraging advocates to attend public meetings to speak to the critical need for home fire sprinklers.

Reach decision-makers
The most important part of making sprinklers for new homes a reality will be convincing local elected officials that this is a life-and-death issue for their constituents. Use messages, data, and presentations available on this Web site and others. Decision-makers must be convinced that sprinklers are a life-saving fire suppression tool that not only reduce the number of deaths, injuries, and destruction associated with home fires, but also alleviate stress on local fire departments, conserve water, and provide added economic benefits for home owners. See list of arguments for home fire sprinklers.

From the National Fire Sprinkler Association

Download a reproducible copy of this page (PDF, 154 KB).