As everyone knows, fire is very dangerous. We learn from a very early age to be wary of fire, giving it a wide berth even when we utilize it for things like cooking or even camping. Fire can be a powerful tool, but there is no doubt that the risks of fire are high. Unfortunately, fires can all too quickly spread out of control, something that can cause untold damage both to property as well as to human lives. The data surrounding the spread of fires supports this, as it shows that a new structure fire occurred just about every minute here in the United States (one every 63 seconds or so, to be just a bit more exact), at least according to the data that as gathered in the year of 2017. And when it came to home fires in particular, a new one broke out once in less than every one and a half minutes. On top of this, outside property fires broke out even more frequently, with one occurring for every 55 seconds, a span of time under even a single minute.

This marked a total of considerable size by the time that the year of 2017 had drawn to a close. When this year ended, there have been very nearly half of a millions structure fires – around 499,000 of them, to be just a bit more precise. This even marked an increase of very nearly 5% from just the year prior, the year of 2016. In this one year, after all, only around 475,500 fires had been logged. And in the years that have transpired since, the total number of fires has only continued to grow.

But why, exactly, have fires become so prevalent here in the United States? What causes these fires? The answer is not necessarily a simple one, as there can certainly be a good number of root causes behind the fires that are seen throughout the country. For instance, cooking alone accounts for nearly one third (more than 29% of) of all fires of a non-residential nature. And simple carelessness actually accounts for more than 10% of these fires. In residential settings, such things can lead to many a fire as a well, as too can issues with electrical systems that, when left unaddressed, can all too easily pose a fire risk of considerable proportions.

Of course, wildfires are also posing a growing danger both here in the United States as well as in many other parts of the world. As global warming continues to take its toll, it is all too likely that we will continue to see the spread – and the worsening – of wildfires throughout our country and our planet. But as prevalent as wildfires are, much damage caused by fire is seen outside of them as well, showing just how truly prevalent fire alone can be. After all, more than $10 billion in property damage was caused by fires outside of those wildfires in the year of 2017. Again, this marked a considerable jump from the year prior, when only around $7.8 billion in damages was accrued (though this is still certainly a large number indeed).

But, fortunately, there are steps that we can take to fight back against fires. For instance, the role of the fire sprinkler designer is a hugely important one. After all, it is thanks to the fire sprinkler designer that tools of fire suppression such as fire sprinklers and their installation have become possible. Fire sprinkler design, carefully crafted by the fire sprinkler designer, lends itself to the layout detail and calculation of fire sprinkler systems. Without a fire sprinkler designer, fire sprinkler system design would not be nearly as high in quality as it is today.

At the end of the day, we need the fire sprinkler designer and the automatic fire sprinkler design that their work has led to. Without the fire sprinkler designer, our ability to fight fires and prevent casualties and damage within those fires would likely be greatly lessened. And this, in turn, would boost our need for the fire sprinkler designer even more greatly.