A recent study by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) found that a residential fire occurs every 83 seconds in the United States. In 1998, 381,500 residential fires occurred, resulting in 3,220 deaths. While smoke detectors have made a dramatic impact in saving lives, property loss is still substantial. Residential property loss due to fire in 1998 was nearly $4.5 billion.

Help may lie with home fire sprinklers. According to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, installing both smoke alarms and a fire sprinkler system reduces the risk of death in a house fire by 82%. In addition, most home systems can extinguish or contain a fire more quickly than it takes the fire department to arrive. Statistics show 90% of fires are contained with the activation of only one sprinkler, using a fraction of the water used by fire department hoses. For more information on home sprinklers, visit the NFPA Web site, www.nfpa.org.