A report by the National Fire Prevention Association’s (NFPA) John R. Hall, Jr., entitled Manufactured Home Fires documents that manufactured homes (MH), built after 1976 when MH production fell under the dictates of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are more fire-resistant than comparable site-built homes. The study also discloses they are three times safer than pre HUD Code mobile homes from 40 years ago.

In Keeping the Home Fires From Burning: Fire Safety and the Modern Manufactured Home, award-winning consumer reporter Jan Hollingsworth

considers the debate over mandatory sprinkler systems and human no-nos that contribute to most house fires. Non-functional smoke alarms, overloaded electrical circuits and improper use of cooktops and ovens for heating are primary causes of seasonal home fires. HUD Code manufactured homes now include escape windows, flame resistant wall coverings and tough construction standards that reduce fire chances.

Deanna Fields, Executive Director of the Manufactured Housing Association of Oklahoma, says consumers can have sprinkler systems installed. “Some of our factories incorporate sprinkler systems in certain areas of the house, such as the kitchen or furnace, if the consumer wants to pay for it.”

As pressreleaserocket tells MHProNews, Hall is a part of NFPA’s Fire Analysis and Research Division, and states, “A manufactured home is not a motor home or a trailer, and although it is often called a “mobile home,” it is not that either.”

For Hollingsworth’s complete story about fire safety, please click here. ##

(Image credit, top: National Fire Prevention Association; bottom: mspace–modular fire station, Delray Beach, Fla.)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.