There are those who try to discourage installation of home fire sprinklers.

They come up with many reasons, but offer no alternatives for those in the worst case scenario - waking up smelling smoke and hearing the smoke alarms sounding.

If the house has home fire sprinklers, only the one closest to the fire activates and sprays water on the fire, about 15 gallons per minute.

If the house doesn't have sprinklers, the ONLY thing to do is implement the home escape plan and get everybody out as quickly as possible.

Myth: "Smoke alarms will set the fire sprinklers off."
Fact: Fire sprinklers and smoke alarm systems are separate systems, are not inter-connected. Some home sprinkler systems may cause the smoke alarms to activate, but no smoke alarm system will cause sprinklers to activate.

Myth: "Smoke alarms will put the fire out!"
Fact: This is a dangerous and misleading statement. It might suggest that smoke alarms will alert the occupants who will then get a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. Fire extinguishers should only be used by occupants who have weighed the risk of losing their live, versus the reward of extinguishing a fire. The number-one priority when you hear a smoke alarm is to implement your family escape plan and get everyone out of the building.

Myth: "When a fire occurs, every sprinkler goes off."
Fact: Only in the movies. Die Hard (1998), Changing Lanes (2002), The Matrix (1999), Accepted (2006), The Incredibles (2004), and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), among others. Sprinklers are individually activated by fire. Residential fires are usually controlled with just one sprinkler.

Myth: "A smoke alarm provides enough protection."
Fact: Smoke alarms save lives by providing a warning system but can do nothing to extinguish a fire.

Myth: "Water damage from a sprinkler system will be more extensive than fire damage."
Fact: Each sprinkler releases approximately 15 gpm. This compares to about 5.5 gpm that flows from an open garden hose, and 50 gpm to 125 gpm released by a firehose. Sprinklers are highly reliable devices that are activated by heat. They will only go off if there is a fire which increases the heat beyond the sprinkler trigger point (around 155°)

Myth: "Sprinklers are designed to protect property, but are not effective for life safety."
Fact: Sprinklers provide a high level of life safety. Statistics demonstrate that there has never been any multiple loss of life in a fully sprinklered building. Property losses are 85 percent less in residences with fire sprinklers compared to those without sprinklers.

Myth: "The added cost of sprinklers will make housing unaffordable to first-time buyers."
Fact: The cost to install sprinklers when a home is being built is significantly less than it would cost to retrofit it later on. The cost of a sprinkler system can be offset by many things (carpet upgrades, a paved driveway, a whirlpool bath, a fence, etc.) each of which can be added on at a later time as money becomes available. The difference is that each of these add-ons will cost practically the same as when the house was built. This is not true of adding fire sprinklers. It costs significantly more (some same 2 to 3 times) to install as a retrofit. This high cost means that, in all likelihood, sprinklers will never be installed.

Myth: "It is unfair to target new construction because new buildings are safer than older buildings."
Fact: There are more fires in older buildings because older buildings comprise a larger portion of the country's structural inventory. The fact is that fires start, and, in fact today's home with the "open floor" design and contents made of synthetic materials (drapes, carpets, cushions, etc.) produce fires that burn hotter and spread faster than in past years. And, what exactly does "new construction" mean - one year, 5 years, 10 years? There is no grace period for a house that guarantees that a fire won't occur. A house built today and that same house 10 years from now is subject to a fire.

Myth: "Sprinklers are ugly, I don't want them in my space."
Fact: Residential sprinklers come in a variety of unobtrusive styles and models and in designer colors. They are mounted flush with the ceiling line, and concealed behind protective covers.

Myth: "Sprinkler systems are not practical in cold climates, the pipes will freeze and cause water damage."
Fact: If installed correctly all pipes (hot water, cold water, forced hot water for heating, sprinkler, etc.) should not freeze. Products are available that send alerts when temperature is too low, and can even shut off water remotely.

Myth: "Fire sprinkler systems are not reliable."
Fact: Laboratory testing and a 50-year installation/activation history clearly shows that fire sprinkler systems exceed a 95 percent "fail-safe" status.

Myth: "Property owners will have to pay an expensive yearly testing fee."
Fact: Like any piece of mechanical equipment, sprinkler systems must be inspected, tested, and maintained to ensure a high degree of reliability. No one would buy a car and then never bother to change the oil, tires, or get a tune-up. Testing fees will be directly related to the market demand.

Myth: "Insurance costs will go up due to fire sprinkler system ruptures and leaks."
Fact: Consider these facts:
a) Sprinkler head failure rate is one in 16 million.
b) Domestic plumbing ruptures and leaks are over a 1000 to 1 ratio compared to sprinkler system ruptures and leaks.
c) If an insurance company wants to place a surcharge on your policy because you have a sprinkler system, there are other insurance companies that value the reliability and effectiveness of fire sprinkler systems and will reduce your policy premiums if you have fire sprinkler protection, especially in rural or "unprotected areas". d) Some insurance companies (such as State Farm) are the leading advocates for fire sprinkler systems to protect the risks they must underwrite.

Myth: "Fire sprinkler systems cause taxes to go up."
Fact: Not when local government practices fiscal diligence. While the overall property value increases in sprinklered buildings, the fire protection costs may go down, especially in communities that can maximize all the benefits afforded by using fire sprinkler protection. Reductions in water service sizes, hydrant spacing, fire service costs, and damage repair can be reduced. Some progressive local governments offer tax incentives to encourage homeowners to install fire sprinkler systems in their dwellings.

Myth: "People will install fire sprinkler systems on a non-mandatory basis."
Fact: A 200-year history clearly shows that safety equipment and safety systems are rarely installed when left to good intentions. Getting fire sprinklers installed in a community so that all of the "trade-up" advantages can be maximized usually requires mandated legislation or local ordinances. A spotty, hit-and-miss application of fire sprinkler system installation is not the most cost-effective way of achieving all of the benefits afforded from fire sprinklers. From a life safety, property conservation point of view, there will be no significant change in these horrendous statistics until fire sprinklers are required by law to protect those who cannot adequately protect themselves.