Nearly 104,000 homebuilders, developers and other housing professionals took part in the 2007 International Builders’ Show® (IBS) in Orlando, FL February 7-10. The annual gathering boasted the largest IBS Exhibit on record, with one million square feet of space. HFSC was part of that huge expo with its own record-setting display.

HFSC coordinated a collective residential sprinkler education booth with participation from six sprinkler industry manufacturers – each in their own kiosk within the booth. HFSC presented its most comprehensive exhibit ever with more than 1,000 square feet of display space. Although the public safety community unanimously recognizes residential fire sprinkler systems as the future of fire protection, and the best opportunity to cut the fire death rate, there remains a lack of information about the technology within the homebuilding industry. To overturn that skepticism and misinformation, HFSC is specifically targeting the home building community with the facts about home fire sprinklers.

HFSC was joined in the booth by sprinkler manufacturers Globe, Reliable, Tyco and Viking, and pipe and fitting manufacturers BlazeMaster® and Victaulic. Representatives from the participating sprinkler companiesoined members of HFSC’s Steering Committee in staffing the booth, answering
questions and sharing free educational materials with attendees.

On display were examples of residential fire sprinklers and pipe, free HFSC print and video/DVD educational materials and tools, and a 5’ x 9’ cut-away miniature sprinklered home model that allows builders to visualize how sprinkler systems are installed in homes.

The center attraction of the HFSC Booth was the “BUILT FOR LIFE” game, hosted by HFSC’s celebrity spokesperson Ron Hazelton, best known as the home improvement editor on ABC TV’s Good Morning America program. Hazelton – who has fire sprinklers in his own home – served as emcee. The game gave Show attendees the opportunity to answer a question about home fire sprinklers. Correct answers were rewarded with a chance to spin the wheel and claim a valuable prize. Builders willingly waited in line to play;some for as long as 30 minutes.

By teaming up with members of the fire sprinkler industry in this collective exhibit, HFSC is able to provide the important audience with the facts they need, at their convenience.“This effort shows how HFSC is working to bring our public safety message directly to the homebuilding industry,” says Steve Muncy, who represents the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) on HFSC's Board. “We recognize that the concept of offering sprinklers to customers is still new to many homebuilders. By exhibiting at IBS along with our partners from the sprinkler industry, we can help homebuilders gain the information they need about the fire protection technology, while helping them separate out the fiction that is so pervasive.”

Over the years, HFSC’s IBS exhibits have also provided the opportunity to poll homebuilders to better understand their interests, concerns and misconceptions about offering home sprinkler systems to their customers. HFSC has utilized these findings to improve its educational outreach. In fact, the “BUILT FOR LIFE” program was designed specifically to respond to the types of questions HFSC has received through years of exhibiting at the IBS.

“HFSC’s sole purpose is to educate the public about the value of installed fire sprinkler protection,” adds Muncy. “We know that powerful and strategic outreach to the homebuilding industry is a critical component of effective public education. As builders begin to understand that a more fire-safe home is a more valuable product, more systems will be installed every year. That’s going to improve the infrastructure of the community and ultimately save lives.”