Here at Restoration Now! Omaha, our Omaha fire damage restoration professionals know that experiencing a home fire can be one of the most traumatic experiences a family goes through. When you take a moment to look at the numbers, though, you’ll know just how big the problem can be for so many families.
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, or NFPA, over 50 percent of all structure fires in the US happened in single or two-family homes, resulting in over 3,000 deaths. Home sprinkler systems can reduce the chances of death in an Omaha fire damage emergency by over 80 percent, yet only a scant 1 percent of homes are equipped with a sprinkler system. It’s a sad fact that most homeowners are more likely to install lawn sprinklers to keep their grass green than a home sprinkler system to keep their families safe.
But why is this? We here at Restoration Now! Omaha think that it’s a combination of homeowners not knowing the benefits of home sprinkler systems and overestimating the potential problems they think come along with them. Our fire damage restoration experts are going to set the record straight today about home sprinkler systems and explain how they’re a great way to reduce property damage and save lives!
It’ll Go Off If I Burn the Roast
Probably the number one misconception about home sprinkler systems comes from people misunderstanding how they work. We hear many people who are concerned about their burnt dinner causing the sprinkler to trigger accidentally, but we want to make this perfectly clear—that doesn’t happen.
You see, sprinklers don’t trigger because of smoke; only high temperatures will set off a sprinkler system. In fact, home sprinkler systems won’t trigger unless their sensors register temperatures of around 165 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s all but impossible for home sprinklers to trigger accidentally. With 16 million to 1 odds you’re more likely to be struck and killed by lightning, so you can rest easy knowing home sprinkler systems are a reliable way to prevent Omaha fire damage.
Home Sprinklers Cause Water Damage
Many people are also afraid of the water damage that they think will happen when a home sprinkler system goes off. While this makes a certain kind of sense, we here at Restoration Now! Omaha urge you to take a look at the bigger picture. During an Omaha fire damage emergency, a home sprinkler head will release around 15-30 gallons of water per minute. Compare this to a fire hose which sprays water at 150 gallons per minute, and then you’ll have a better idea of which option means more water damage to your property!
Another thing many people don’t understand is that just because one sprinkler head goes off in your home doesn’t mean that they all will. If you have a small fire in the kitchen, say, only the kitchen sprinkler will trigger. This contains any fire and water damage to the area without dousing non-affected areas.
It Costs Too Much to Prevent Omaha Fire Damage
Another one of the biggest reasons homeowners elect not to install home sprinkler systems to prevent fire damage in Omaha is the supposed cost. Depending on the market you live in, though, the actual cost of installing a sprinkler system in a new house construction can be as little as $.50 to $2.50 per square foot! This cost goes up of course if you’re installing a system in an existing structure (because of the costs of tearing out and replacing drywall). However, if you’re thinking about doing some home renovations that require you to replace the drywall anyway, installing a sprinkler system at the same time can be a lot less expensive.
Here’s another figure to think about: Omaha fire damage in homes with sprinkler systems installed averages out to around $2,100. In homes without sprinkler systems? $45,000. You can do the math yourself and see that installing home sprinklers is more cost-effective than rolling the dice.
Contact Restoration Now! Omaha at (402) 502-7277
Our Omaha fire damage restoration team here at Restoration Now! Omaha hopes we’ve given you some good reasons to consider installing a home sprinkler system. They can save lives, reduce property damage, and in the long run they can save you a lot of money.
It’s important to remember, though, that Omaha fire damage can be a real pain to deal with even when you have sprinklers. During these times you need a partner with the experience to restore fire damage quickly and effectively so you can get back to living a normal life. We at Restoration Now! Omaha offer 24/7 emergency fire damage restoration services, so give us a call at (402) 502-7277 at the first sign of trouble.