(BPT) - When it comes to the safety of your home and family, you would probably say money is no object. Yet cost (real or perceived) has long deterred many homeowners from considering a residential fire sprinkler system to protect their homes. The systems cut the risk of dying in a home fire by 80 percent, have broad support from safety experts and can even qualify you for a discount on your homeowners insurance. But until now, a perception of high cost has overshadowed those positives.

A new study reveals that the price of residential fire sprinkler systems has dropped significantly, creating an opportunity for safety-minded homeowners to tap the many benefits of sprinklers.

In 2008, the average per-foot cost of a residential fire sprinkler system was $1.61; in 2013, the average per-foot cost has plunged to $1.35, according to a report by the Fire Protection Research Foundation. Multipurpose systems that use a homes cold-water supply, rather than a separate piping system, are even more affordable just $1.23 per square foot, the report found.

And costs are likely to drop even lower, one expert says.

More communities are considering, or have already implemented, fire sprinkler requirements for new, single-family homes, says Eric Skare, a volunteer firefighter and fire safety systems product manager for Uponor North America (www.uponor-usa.com), an Apple Valley, Minn.-based sprinkler system manufacturer. Growing demand has resulted in increased competition and lower installed costs for these systems. Manufacturers competing for market share continue to develop lower-cost products to ensure the cost-effectiveness of residential fire sprinkler systems.

The lower cost is good news for anyone interested in protecting their home with a fire sprinkler system, Skare says. The benefits of such systems are many:

* Eighty percent of all fire deaths occur in residential fires. While functioning smoke alarms reduce the risk of home fire fatalities by 50 percent, sprinklers slash the risks by 80 percent, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

* Multipurpose systems like those provided by Uponor reduce the amount of piping needed to supply sprinkler systems because they tie into a homes existing cold-water plumbing system. Instead of two piping systems - plumbing and fire-sprinkler - the builder need install only one, reducing material, labor costs and jobsite-scheduling hassles, saving 35 percent to 65 percent in installation time over standalone, rigid CPVC systems. That, in turn, should result in a lower cost to the home buyer.

* Homeowners insurance companies provide an average premium discount of 7 percent to homes with fire sprinkler systems, according to the Fire Protection Research Foundation.

* Home fire sprinkler systems act quickly to reduce heat, flames and smoke from fire, giving families valuable time to safely get out of a burning home. Sprinklers extinguish most home fires in seconds, before the fire department arrives and before major damage can occur, Skare notes. In fact, sprinklers are far less damaging than fire hoses used by firefighting teams. One study in Scottsdale, Ariz., found the average fire damage loss for a home without sprinklers was more than $45,000; with sprinklers, losses shrink to slightly more than $2,100.

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Cost of home fire sprinklers at all-time lows; benefits still high

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Pipes burst Monday morning at a special needs school in the Hillcrest neighborhood in Little Rock.

"Several of our toddlers, sitting at the table for snack, and water pouring like a waterfall out of the ceiling, on top of them," Program Coordinator Jackie Beatty said. "Water was pouring out all into the classroom making a big mess."

Teachers heard a loud boom and certainly didn't expect what came next.

"We take precautions as far as the dripping of facets etc., in the restrooms, but the sprinkler system, I'm not too sure we could have prevented that," Director Suzy Benham said.

As water flooded the floors, the teachers quickly evacuated the school. But with bitter cold and special needs students, this faculty base knew standing outside waiting for firefighters wasn't an option. So the children waited in cars.

"Not only are you trying to get kids out of here, but your trying to get oxygen, their trec kits, their medications, everything," Benham said.

Benham said the children were moved out of the school safely in less than two minutes. School will be cancelled Tuesday as the cleanup continues. But Tuesday won't bring about the end of their problems.

"There are materials that are in the classrooms, all of that will probably be replaced, so yes it's a longterm fix," Beatty said.

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LR School Closes After Sprinkler System Bursts

ROCK FALLS A frozen pipe burst in the sprinkler system at Civic Plaza II early Saturday morning, eventually forcing the evacuation of all 63 residents.

The call from the low-income apartment complex at 1113 Fifth Ave. came in to the Rock Falls Fire Department about 3:30 a.m., Captain Cris Bouwens said.

"The problem started on the fifth floor, and water was raining down wherever it comes down the floor," Bouwens said. "There were not only water concerns, but electrical at that point."

After the power was turned off in the building, a venting issue caused elevated carbon monoxide readings, but Bouwens said it was quickly addressed and never presented a danger to any of the residents.

Bouwen said the pipe froze because of problems with a rooftop heating unit that regulated heat in areas outside of the residents' rooms, including hallways and the meeting room. The individual rooms have separate heating units that were working.

"They've been having issues with that rooftop unit for awhile," Bouwen said.

A call for assistance went out to Lincolnland Red Cross of Rock Falls about 4 a.m., according to volunteer Karen Nelson, the disaster action team leader. The residents did still have heat in a meeting room while they waited to find out if they would have to leave.

"We had to wait for the inspector and other officials to evaluate the situation, and they decided to evacuate at about 9:30 [a.m.]," Nelson said.

The evacuation was made difficult by the fact that many of the residents are elderly and disabled. A majority of the residents had family or friends to stay with, Nelson said. About 23 needed transportation assistance and temporary shelter.

"It was a long process getting everyone out, but we set up a temporary shelter at the community center before transporting them to the Days Inn in Rock Falls," Bouwens said. Residents spent about 4 hours at the community center, where they were fed.

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Civic Plaza II residents evacuated

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Busted sprinkler forces evacuation at Harper Woods nursing facility

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YORK, Maine Quick work by school custodial staff and York firefighters averted what could have been "major damage" to Coastal Ridge Elementary School on Friday.

Firefighters responded Friday morning to the school gymnasium after a sprinkler head at the rear of the gym broke, according to York Village Fire Chief Chris Balentine. As a result, there was a small amount of flooding in one corner of the gym.

"Fortunately, the staff was on site to clear snow and heard the fire alarm go off, which dispatched the Fire Department," he said.

Balentine said that between the staff and firefighters, they were able to turn off the sprinkler system and clean up the water on the floor.

"It could have been much worse," he said, adding the sprinkler company was expected to come to the school Friday to repair the damaged head, "so all is good."

The Fire Department cleared the scene at 11:15 a.m.

Deborah McDermott

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Sprinkler break causes minor flooding at York school

Business was interrupted at The Bay when a rack of burning merchandise triggered the store's sprinkler system and scrambled firefighters to Woodgrove Centre Thursday.

Firefighters were called out at about 2:30 p.m. after someone had apparently set a rack of clothes on fire near one wall on the south side of the store.

"The store has pretty high ceilings and the flames were high enough to trigger the sprinkler system," said Capt. Ennis Mond, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer.

Mond said store employees pulled the rack away from the wall and snuffed the flames out with two fire extinguishers.

Two female employees injured their hands breaking the glass covering a fire alarm pull station, but Mond said he did not know the extent of their injuries.

No other injuries were reported.

"All appearances are that somebody went in there and lit the rack on fire," Mond said.

The investigation has been turned over to the RCMP.

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RCMP probing fire at The Bay

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI -- A space heater used by a work crew likely was the cause of a Friday fire that caused massive damage to Fifth Third Ballpark, and fire officials believe the automatic sprinkler system was deactivated earlier in the day because of a false alarm.

Plainfield Township Fire Chief David Peterson said there was a false alarm at about 5 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 3, and that the system was shut down at that time.

Several hours later, Peterson said, a work crew was in a stadium suite using a space heater that started a small fire. The workers believed they had extinguished those flames and left the area, Peterson said.

About 11 a.m., the workers returned to find the area -- on the first base side of home plate -- in flames. A fire alarm was sounding, the chief said.

Peterson said he did not believe the suppression system worked properly during the fire.

The fire destroyed up to 12 suites on the first base side of the field, and Peterson estimated the damage at up to $500,000. Firefighters were able to stop the blaze from spreading to the third base size.

E-mail John Tunison: jtunison@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/johntunison

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Fifth Third Ballpark fire sparked by space heater, sprinkler system possibly off, fire chief says

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