Fire Departments and Other Fire Safety Advocates Gear Up for Fifth Annual Home Fire Sprinkler Week: May 15-21
The NFPA Fire Sprinkler Initiative and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) will once again work with fire departments, the sprinkler industry, and other safety advocates throughout North America to increase awareness about home fire sprinklers May 15-21, 2022. The week-long digital campaign will amplify key home fire sprinkler messaging with daily themes and turn-key assets anyone can use. HFSC’s new virtual reality 360-degree flashover and sprinkler video will kick off the campaign.
Participation has increased significantly since the promotion first started five years ago as Home Fire Sprinkler Day, and we intend to keep the momentum going.
The first two years, national media events were held at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute and NFPA headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. Underscoring the importance of home fire sprinkler education. When COVID hit in 2020 the effort turned virtual with great success and increased reach. That continued into 2021 with the creation of more digital content that could be easily used by advocates and educators.
While there is still opportunity for live events on the local level for those who choose to, digital is a great way to go. It makes Home Fire Sprinkler Week accessible to any fire department at little or no cost to them, and it helps all of us reach larger audiences through the online platforms the public uses every day. I encourage everyone to participate in this year’s campaign May 15-21.
It will be all new: daily themes, social media graphics and posts, and we will feature HFSC’s new virtual reality 360-degree home fire flashover and sprinkler video. And you don’t have to wait until May to check out the 2D version of this virtual experience on the HFSC website or YouTube channel. Viewers can navigate throughout the fire room, turn in a full circle, look up and down, and watch the flashover and sprinkler activation in real time. It allows users to personally understand home fire growth and spread safely and experience the power of home fire sprinklers to understand how they protect residents and responders. Pulling it all together, video comparing damage in both rooms after the fires is dramatic and convincing evidence of the need for fire sprinklers in new homes.
Mark your calendars for the week of May 15. The Home Fire Sprinkler Week Digital Campaign can help any fire department increase the scope of their educational efforts, speak to new audiences, expand their messaging, and increase their public safety reach and influence. Most important, it can increase awareness about the life saving benefits of home fire sprinklers.
