Ridge VFD was awarded a $300 stipend from the national nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) and State Farm to increase awareness about the dangers of home fires and the life-saving benefits of home fire sprinklers. Ridge VFD was one of 30 qualifying fire departments that demonstrated a plan to conduct community outreach during Home Fire Sprinkler Week 2021.

Home Fire Sprinkler Week, which takes place across North America, will be May 16-22, 2021. Co-Sponsored by HFSC and the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Fire Sprinkler Initiative, the week emphasizes the dangers of home fires to residents and firefighters and promotes the importance of building new homes with automatic fire sprinklers.

For the entire month of May 2021, Ridge VFD will highlight the uses and benefits of home sprinkler systems. During Home Fire Sprinkler Week, the focus will specifically be on initiatives laid out by HFSC and NFPA. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, Ridge VFD will be supporting Home Fire Sprinkler Week 2021 events virtually (via website and Facebook).

With the NFPA Fire Sprinkler Initiative, HFSC co-sponsors Home Fire Sprinkler Week, an educational program carried out annually in the U.S. and Canada. The Week unites the fire service in the effort to increase awareness of home fire dangers to civilians and responders and facts about installing fire sprinklers in new homes.

Every community needs the facts about home fire sprinklers. We are honored to have been selected for this generous stipend. Using the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition’s educational materials, we will raise awareness of how quickly a home fire can become deadly and the life-saving impact of installing home fire sprinklers.

According to HFSC:
• Without sprinklers, today’s home fires become deadly in as little as two minutes.
• These fires put residents and firefighters at risk from toxic smoke, heat and flames.
• With sprinklers, in a home fire the sprinkler closest to the fire will activate when the temperature reaches about 165F.
• The sprinkler will spray water directly on the fire, controlling or putting it out. In most home fires, just one sprinkler activates.

For more information about home fire sprinklers, please visit the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department website at http://www.ridgevfd.org, and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition website at http://www.homefiresprinkler.org.