Ask the expert

I am thinking about installing a home fire sprinkler system. What are some of the pros and cons?

For more than a century, sprinkler systems have been used in offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, factories and other public places to put out fires, prevent property damage and help save lives. Now the systems are used in many homes as well.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), it can take less than three minutes for a small flame to grow into a fully engaged fire, engulfing a room. FEMA notes that sprinklers, paired with smoke alarms, can increase the chance of surviving a fire by more than 82 percent - and reduce home fire damage by up to 97 percent.

For those considering installing a home fire sprinkler, State Farm Insurance notes, in an article on the learning center on its website:

Smoke alarms can alert residents but won’t put out a fire. Sprinklers may be able to extinguish a fire even as the residents are fleeing a home. Squelching a fire early increases safety and lessens the amount of property damage.

Each sprinkler head is activated individually and only over the area of the fire. Only the closest sprinkler to the fire will activate, spraying water directly on the fire. Ninety percent of fires are contained by the activation of a single sprinkler, according to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition.

Sprinklers are activated by heat, not smoke. Smoke from burned toast or a snuffed candle won’t accidentally set off the system.

Many sprinklers will activate within 30 seconds to a minute - much faster than local firefighters can respond.

In a home without sprinklers, the fire will continue to grow while firefighters are en route.

More time spent waiting for help means more risk to residents and property damage.

In one study, sprinklers used an estimated 341 gallons of water to control the average fire. Firefighters used an average of 2,935 gallons to extinguish a residential fire, according to a report published by the Rural/Metro Fire Department of Scottsdale, Ariz., 15 years after a sprinkler ordinance was implemented there in 1986.

Today, more than 50 percent of the homes in the city include fire sprinkler systems.

Residential sprinklers are smaller than commercial units and can be incorporated into the ceiling treatment of many homes. Available in a variety of finishes; some sprinkler fixtures can be made less noticeable by concealing them in ceiling plates or pendants.

The cost of installing a home sprinkler system varies depending on the location of the home, its water pressure and added fees. In a new home, the cost may add 1 to 2.75 percent to the total new construction cost.

Nationally, on average, home fire sprinkler systems cost $1.61 per square foot of sprinkler space in new construction.

Installing a home sprinkler system may reduce homeowners’ insurance premiums.

To learn more about residential fire sprinklers, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition at homefiresprinkler.org.

Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? Send it to Linda S. Caillouet, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or e-mail:

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