Partners in progress: Shane Ray, President of the NFSA, discusses the critical role of fire sprinklers in reducing loss
Iain Hoey
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By Shane Ray, President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association
It is an honour to serve such a great industry that saves lives, protects property, ensures business continuity, and minimizes negative impacts to the environment.
It’s an honour to be the President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
It is a lot of responsibility to preserve and enhance a 119-year-old institution, but I love every day of the challenge.
The fire sprinkler industry has experienced 5 record years and while it looks like it may be flattening, we still see it remaining steady.
Since 1980, NFSA has tracked fire sprinkler shipments in the United States by our member manufacturers, which are Viking, Victaulic, Reliable, and Johnson Controls Inc.
With our partner organisation the International Fire Suppression Alliance, founded by NFSA in 1999, we also track all the fire sprinkler shipments around the world by our members.
We have seen a 300% increase in fire sprinklers shipped in the US since 1980.
This is because there has been a 70% increase in building occupancies required to be protected with automatic fire sprinklers in the same time period.
Thanks to our efforts in trying to protect the single-family dwelling and townhouse, in 2019 the total numbers of fire sprinklers shipped reached 25% being residential fire sprinklers.
The modern fire environment has changed so much in the past 30+ years that fire departments struggle to keep up and our codes and standards too often lag in responsiveness to the environment they are supposed to protect.
Improvements in the buildings fire protection systems have struggled to keep pace with the size, contents, and configuration of modern buildings.
The volume of unregulated material in our homes coupled with energy storage systems (ESS) and electric vehicles (EV) is making the fire problem in America worse.
From homes to high-rises, mega-warehouses and ever-increasing big box stores that support our lifestyles, the unintended consequence is a modern fire environment that is overwhelming some of the best staffed, equipped, and trained fire departments in America.
The extremely large loss fires are not new, but they are certainly becoming more frequent, but with the same cause for the past 150 years, which 2024 is the 150-year anniversary of the patent of the automatic fire sprinkler by Henry Parmalee.
The primary cause is closed valves or prematurely shutting the water supply off.
The modern fire environment requires fire sprinklers and firefighters to be partners in progress to save lives and protect property.
The modern fire environment requires firefighters and fire officers to understand fire protection features of the building, especially active fire protection systems.
Fire sprinklers and Firefighters equal an unbeatable team.
It is an honour to be on a quest to bring the fire protection industry and the American fire service together before, during, and after the fire.
NFSA’s team across the country works hard every day to promote, defend, and enhance the fire sprinkler industry.
Our mission is pure and it is exactly what I’ve dedicated my entire professional career to, even before working here.
That mission is to save lives and protect property from fire through the widespread acceptance of the fire sprinkler concept.
About the IFSJ Influencer
Shane Ray serves as President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, an association established in 1905 to be the voice of the fire sprinkler industry.
Shane has 35+ years in the fire service.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and the Eastern Kentucky University Fire Protection Program Advisory Board.
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