According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a fire department responded to a fire every 24 seconds, on average, in the United States in 2019. An NFPA study also found that in fires where sprinklers were present, flame damage was confined to the room of origin 97% of the time compared to 74% for fires without sprinkler systems.

The National Fire Protection Association, NFPA emphasizes that an efficient and balanced system for fire protection should be designed and installed so that safety does not rely solely on any one safeguard, like a single sprinkler or alarm system.