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9.A. - Page 9 <br /> e. According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, a full bathtub requires <br /> about 70 gallons of water while taking a five minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons <br /> of water. (www.epa.gov/WaterSense/kids/showerpower.html) Similarly, fire <br /> departments use up to 10 times as much water to extinguish a home fire as fire <br /> sprinklers would use to extinguish the same fire with firehoses. <br /> (www.firesprinklerin itiative.orq/advocacy-tools/fact-sheets/myths-vs- <br /> facts.aspx#Myth%2Oactivation <br /> f. The City's Fire Chief reports that it takes significantly more water to fight a fire in <br /> a building without an Automatic Sprinkler System than it does to fight a fire in a <br /> building with a sprinkler system. The City's Fire Chief estimates that it takes <br /> approximately 1,500 gallons of water to fight a single apartment fire in a multi-unit <br /> building and only 50 gallons to control this same fire with automatic sprinklers. In <br /> the case of the two fires on Woodside Road in 2013 which involved substantial <br /> portions of the buildings, the City used approximately three million gallons of <br /> water. The buildings in both fires lacked Automatic Sprinkler Systems. Had the <br /> buildings had Automatic Sprinkler Systems, the City's Fire Chief estimates the <br /> City would have only used approximately 1,000 gallons per fire. <br /> g. Through conservation efforts and recycling programs, Redwood City is currently <br /> consuming less than its contractual supply assurance. However, fighting fires <br /> takes a lot of water and water could be conserved during fire emergencies and <br /> events if more multi-unit buildings had automatic fire sprinkler systems. Such a <br /> reduction will contribute to the goals of the City's Urban Water Management Plan, <br /> the State's drought conservation regulations, and the SFPUC's water <br /> conservation objectives. <br /> 5. Automatic Sprinkler Systems reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other <br /> important benefits. <br /> a. FM Global, a large business property insurer, and the non-profit Home Fire <br /> Sprinkler Coalition recently conducted a study. They studied types, quantity, <br /> and duration of air and water pollutants released from a home fire as well as <br /> fire sprinkler and firefighter water usage, environmental impact from a burning <br /> household and finishing materials, environmental impacts from disposing of <br /> fire-damaged contents of a residence, and the carbon footprint associated <br /> rebuilding a burning home. The study included filming and analyzing two <br /> controlled burning homes, one with an Automatic Sprinkler System and one <br /> without. <br /> b. The study showed that greenhouse gases released by burning buildings can <br /> be reduced by 98% when Automatic Sprinkler Systems are installed. In <br /> addition, the study found that Automatic Sprinkler Systems have the following <br /> benefits — they reduce fire damage by up to 97%; reduce water usage to fight <br /> a home fire by upwards of 90%; and reduce the amount of water pollution <br /> ATTY/ORD.410/FIRE SPRINKLER <br /> REV:05-12-15 PT <br /> Page 4 of 9 <br />