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ATTY/ORD.410/FIRE SPRINKLER <br />REV: 06-02-15 PT <br />Page 4 of 9 <br />SFPUC has set a performance objective of greater implementation of water <br />conservation programs in the wholesale service area, including in Redwood City. <br /> <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.firesprinklerinitiative.org/advocacy-tools/fact-sheets/myths-vs- <br />facts.aspx#Myth%20activation <br /> <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 /> <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 /> <br />5. Automatic Sprinkler Systems reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other <br />important benefits. <br /> <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 /> <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 />7.4.A. - Page 6