Friday, June 15, 2012

UL Warns of Counterfeit UL Mark on Fire Sprinklers


PUBLIC NOTICE

Published: Friday, Jun. 15, 2012 - 6:11 am
/PRNewswire/ -- UL is notifying distributors, fire departments, regulatory agencies and authorities having jurisdiction that the Fire Sprinklers identified below bear a counterfeit UL Mark for the United States and Canada. Although the sprinkler frame is marked with the word "TYCO" and the thermo bulb is marked "JOB F5" the sprinkler was not manufactured or labeled by Tyco International, Inc., its affiliatesor agents and the thermo bulb was not manufactured by Job, GmbH.
The Fire Sprinklers have not been evaluated by UL to the appropriate Standards for Safety and it is unknown if these Fire Sprinklers comply with the UL safety requirements for the United States or Canada.
Name of Product: Upright and Pendant Fire Sprinklers Model T-ZSTZ-15.
Identification: On the product: The counterfeit fire sprinklers can be identified by "UL" and "TYCO" marking on the wrench boss of the fire sprinkler frame and  may have model T-ZSTZ-15 on the sprinkler deflector.  Sprinklers manufactured by Tyco that are authorized to bear the UL mark do not have "UL" and "TYCO" marking on the wrench boss.
Sold and Distributed By:  Migo International Trading Company Limited
Room 2404, Cell A
No.100 Nanjing Road
Qingdao City, Shandong Province
China
About UL
UL is a premier global safety science company with more than 100 years of proven history. Employing more than 6800 professionals in over 96 countries, UL is evolving the future of safety with five distinct business units – Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Verification and University – to meet the expanding needs of customers and the global public. Additional information about UL can be found at UL.com or Safetyathome.com.
SOURCE UL

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Thursday, June 14, 2012

DURING NATIONAL BUILDING SAFETY MONTH, IBHS URGES STATES TO ADOPT REQUIREMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL FIRE SPRINKLERS

DURING NATIONAL BUILDING SAFETY MONTH, IBHS URGES STATES TO ADOPT REQUIREMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL FIRE SPRINKLERS
Story Category: Home And Garden »

During National Building Safety Month, IBHS Urges States to Adopt Requirement for Residential Fire Sprinklers

5/23/2012
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During Fire Safety and Awareness Week (May 21-27), which is part of National Building Safety Month, theInsurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) urges state public policymakers to supportresidential fire sprinkler requirements in new construction.
The International Code Council’s model residential building code includes fire sprinklers as mandatory safety features in new one- and two-family homes beginning in 2011. Unfortunately, some states have chosen to opt out of adopting the fire sprinkler requirement or allowed local jurisdictions to decide whether or not to adopt it. This greatly diminishes the life and property safety value of the model code.
Residential fire sprinklers dramatically reduce the risk of death and amount of property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The death rate per reported fire in homes with sprinklers is 83 percent lower than in homes without sprinklers, and direct property damage in homes with sprinklers is 69 percent lower than in homes without sprinklers, according to the NFPA’s report, U.S. Experience with Sprinklers.
“The life safety and property protection benefits of residential fire sprinklers are well known and undisputed,” said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. “State policymakers have the ability to do the right thing and act to save thousands of lives and homes each year by mandating residential fire sprinklers in new residential construction.”
Today's fire sprinklers are not like those depicted so often in movies and television, where just the smell of smoke or a single flame can send a shower of water spewing from the ceiling, soaking everything in the surrounding area. 
Key Fea­tures of Today’s Sprinklers
·        Each fire sprinkler head has a temperature-sensitive element that causes it (rather than the entire system) to activate when temperatures reach 135 degrees to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
·        Sprinklers only operate in response to the heat of fire; they do not respond to smoke or vapors.
·        Because sprinklers operate individually, only the sprinkler(s) over the fire will activate. While they are primarily intended to control the fire long enough to allow occupants to escape, they often help reduce the extent of damage and property loss.
·        When a fire starts, the heat from the fire activates the sprin­kler closest to the fire, limiting fire growth. In some instanc­es, sprinklers will actually put out the fire before firefighters arrive. By limiting or stopping fire growth, further property damage, including that caused by streams of high-pressure water from fire hoses, also is prevented. 
·        Stand-alone sprinkler systems use a dedicated water supply held in place by check valves. While they may require some type of annual maintenance by a professional if they incorporate a testable backflow device, routine maintenance can be done by the homeowner.
Green Side of Sprinklers
Fire sprinklers also can help make your home or business "greener," according to a study by FM Global and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition. The study found that fire sprinklers can save water by reducing the amount needed to extinguish a house fire by more than 90 percent. Researchers also looked at air emissions, including greenhouse gases, from structure fires. "The use of automatic fire sprinklers reduced the greenhouse gas emissions, consisting of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, by 97.8 percent," according to the report.
The study also found sprinklers reduced fire damage by 97 percent, limiting the amount of charred materials that will end up in landfills.
IBHS is a leading national expert on preparing for, and repairing and rebuilding structures after a catastrophe to make them more disaster-resistant. To arrange an interview with IBHS, contact Joseph King at 813-675-1045/813-442-2845, jking@ibhs.org or via direct message on Twitter @jsalking.
Visit www.DisasterSafety.org for more information about how to make your buildings more resistant to a variety of disasters, big and small. Follow IBHS on Twitter at @DisasterSafety and on Facebook.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Insurance Institute For Business and Home Safety Pushing For Residential Fire Sprinkler Requirements


(Brandon Leon/Flickr)
An insurance group wants standards for new home construction to include fire sprinkler systems.
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) is urging policymakers to support new residential construction standards that call for the installation of fire sprinkler systems in new construction.
The International Code Council’s model residential building code reads that fire sprinklers will be mandatory in all new one- and two-family homes as of 2011. However, several states have chosen to opt out of the requirement, or have left local governments to decide whether or not to adopt it.
In Pennsylvania, IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman said there could be cases of legislators feeling apprehensive of the new design of the sprinkler systems. “There are people who are a little afraid of new technology, perhaps don’t understand how sophisticated it is, how well it works, how efficient it is, and the long-term savings that will benefit people in Pennsylvania throughout the state,” said Rochman.
These new sprinklers are equipped with a temperature-sensitive element, meaning they can only be set off by heat, rather than smoke or vapors. Rochman noted that in addition to the heat activation, the entire sprinkler system does not employ at once. “They operate each head individually, so only the sprinkler over the fire will activate, and when a fire starts, the heat from the fire actually activates the sprinkler closest to the fire,” Rochman said.
Rochman said residential fire sprinklers dramatically reduce the risk of death, injury, and the amount property damage in homes. According to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) U.S. Experience with Sprinklers report [full report - PDF], the death rate in homes with sprinklers is 83% lower than homes without sprinklers. The direct property damage in homes with sprinklers is 69% lower than homes without sprinklers.
Rochman said the IBHS is hoping that residential sprinklers will be more widely adopted in the future. “It takes people a while to get used to something new, and the more experience and more familiarity they have, the better results that we’ll see in terms of lives saved, fewer firefighters being injured when they’re responding to fires, less property being destroyed — we think the proof will be in the results and that more people will accept and really want to have sprinklers in their homes,” said Rochman.