greenhouse gas reduction

According to the most recent NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) data, in 2010 U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,331,500 fires. These fires resulted in 3,120 civilian fire fatalities, 17,720 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $15,478,000,000 in direct property loss.

Of these fires 98,000 were responded to in commercial or municipal buildings. Of the over $11.6 billion in property damage, more than $2.6 billion took place in these non-residential structures. This represents an average loss per reported incident in non-residential / commercial structures of over $34,000.

This only tells a portion of the fire story, however.

Fire Extinguishers Effectively Put Out 80% of All Fires

To highlight the effectiveness of extinguishers in the early stage fire fighting, a 2002 UK study performed by FETA (Fire Extinguishing Trades Association) and IFEDA (Independent Fire Engineering and Distributors Association)5 reviewed over 2100 fire incidents and found that in 80% of the cases a portable fire extinguisher successfully extinguished the fire and in 75% of those cases, the fire department was not required to attend.

A similar survey was conducted in 2002 by EUROFEU (European Committee of the Manufacturers of Fire Protection Equipment and Fire Fighting Vehicles)in 6 European countries and it found strikingly consistent results. In over 2600 incidents recorded it concluded that in 81.5% of cases the portable extinguisher successfully extinguished the fire and in 74.6% of the cases the fire department was not required to attend.
 
Extrapolating the results of these surveys to the U.S. market provides solid statistical evidence that in approximately 80% of all fire incidents a portable fire extinguisher is the only fire fighting tool needed to extinguish the fire. Further, they indicate that in 60% of all fire incidents the fire department is not notified (and thus the event would not appear in NFPA statistics).

Fire Extinguisher Success Rates (Estimated)

• Fires Handled entirely by extinguishers with Fire Department not being notified = 1,997,250
• Commercial Strucure fires handled entirely by exinguishers with Fire Department not being notified = 147,000
• Estimated savings in avoided property loss in commercial buildings = 147,000 X $34,000 equals $4.998 Billion
• Fires in which fire extinguishers were the only needed form of fire supression = 5,326,000
• Fires in commercial structures in which extinguishers were the only needed form of fire suppression = 392,000

Although these are only estimates, these numbers make clear that the positive impact of fire extinguishers on society is tremendous.  When fire extinguishers are not available to do their job because they are blocked, missing or depressurized, the results can be deadly, catastrophic and costly.  en-Gauge's electronic fire extinguisher monitoring solution makes sure these vital life safety devices are available, accessible and working properly.

To learn why electronically monitored fire extinguishers are also the most environmentally friendly form of fire protection, check out this White Paper going over all the details.

Reading the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment is a positive experience.  As one colleague said to me, “I felt hopeful after reading it that so many smart people are throwing the weight of their institutions behind finding the answers to climate change.”  I couldn’t agree more. 

In their commitment, they lay out their mission:

We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality. Campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating sustainability into their curriculum will better serve their students and meet their social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society. These colleges and universities will be providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to address the critical, systemic challenges faced by the world in this new century and enable them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will arise as a result of solutions they develop.

They also commit their institutions to taking key steps and reaching targeted milestones in pursuit of achieving climate neutrality “as quickly as possible”.  One of the most effective ways for the schools to reduce emissions is by committing to ‘green’ building programs, like LEED, for new construction projects and retrofits.

While we vigorously applaud these efforts, the fact is that the carbon emissions generated by just one major fire event can eliminate all of the carbon mitigation benefits accrued via those green building projects.  FM Global calculates that fire and risk of fire increases the carbon emissions of buildings by 3% over their lifetime.  With this in mind, it is vital to take aggressive steps to minimize fire risk when implementing any carbon reduction plan.

I encourage you to read The Environmental Impact of Electronically Monitored Fire Extinguishers.  This White Paper reviews the greenhouse gas impacts of fire as well as the critical carbon mitigating effects of fire extinguishers and in particular electronically monitored extinguishers.  Some of the key findings from the report include:

• Fast and early fire suppression with fire extinguishers is the most environmentally-friendly way (carbon emitted, water use, water pollution, additional pollution) to extinguish fire


• Empty and missing fire extinguishers have been a contributing factor to large conflagrations likely contributing thousands of tons of CO2 to the atmosphere annually


• Manual inspections of fire extinguishers are a contributing  factor in greenhouse gas emissions


• Electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers can be highly beneficial in reducing carbon emissions, lowering water consumption and minimizing toxic material release 

Download this free white paper and learn about the most effective way to ensure your Climate Commitement isn’t put at risk by unneccesary fires.