Fire Sprinklers(Affirmation) It wasn?t until the early 1970s that sprinklers were first considered for protecting other residential occupancies that include low-rise apartment buildings, townhouses, and one- and two-family dwellings. In the historical events, if has proven effective, why should it not work now? On May 4, 1973, the report America Burning?provided a detailed analysis of the problem of fire in the United States. This report, compiled by the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, which had been authorized by President Richard Nixon, placed the annual national cost of fires at $11 billion, with more than 12,000 civilian fire deaths and tens of thousands of injuries, most occurring in residential occupancies.