Now, I realize that this may seem like a stupid question, since most of us realize that fire sprinklers save lives and buildings, but many of us don't realize just how important they are. Consider that:

Automatic fire sprinklers have been in use in the U.S. since 1874.

Fire sprinklers are widely recognized as the single most effective method for fighting the spread of fires in their early stages - before they can cause severe injury to people and damage to property.

When one fire sprinkler head goes off to fight a fire the entire sprinkler system does NOT activate. Sprinklers react to temperatures in individual rooms.

The chances of a fire sprinkler accidentally going off are extremely remote.

Over 200 U.S. communities have residential sprinkler laws. Roughly 100 of these communities are in California. In downtown Fresno for example, there has been fire damage of only $42,000 during a 10-year period in which its sprinklering law has been in effect.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, property damage in hotel fires was 78% less in structures with sprinklers than it was in structures without sprinklers during the years 1983-87. (Average loss per fire was $2,300 in sprinklered buildings and $10,300 in unsprinklered buildings.)

NFPA has no record of a fire killing more than two people in a completely sprinklered building where the system was properly operating, except in an explosion or flash fire or where industrial fire brigade members or employees were killed during fire suppression operations.