After several months of study, and in cooperation with the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association (CASA) and the International Fire Suppression Alliance (IFSA), National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) President Shane Ray has sent a letter to Amazon Vice President Dharmesh M. Mehta, alerting him and Amazon of multiple fire sprinkler products currently for sale on Amazon.com that pose substantial risk to health, safety, and welfare.
NFSA President Ray, in partnership with CASA and IFSA, ask Amazon to achieve the following:
- Remove potentially unsafe products from the current sale offerings.
- Develop frameworks to ensure that the fire sprinklers and associated products offered by vendors meet legally required safety standards and are suitable for use in building fire protection systems.
- Establish a means to routinely scan and remove non-compliant items for sale when they occur in the future.
Several companies currently participating in the Amazon marketplace are selling fire sprinklers and associated equipment that when purchased and installed in building fire protection systems could result in significant property damage, personal injury, and even death. All federal, state, provincial, and local building and fire code laws in the United States and Canada require fire sprinklers and their associated equipment to be installed and maintained according to specific National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. The products in question do not.
Several companies in the Amazon marketplace are selling non-certified fire sprinklers and associated equipment, falsely stating that their products have been certified to meet the required standards. Since it is doubtful that the general public would to be able to verify these claims, the NFSA, CASA, IFSA, and their safety partners have banded together to urge Amazon to act immediately and to cease the sale of these items. The non-certified fire sprinklers do not meet fire code laws in the U.S. and Canada and will not operate to protect lives and property.
The three associations and their safety partners request that appropriate steps are taken to protect the public from catastrophic injury and Amazon from potential liability.
