DATE OF INCIDENT: 9/25/2009
INCIDENT TYPE: Information
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 44 West Riverside
CITY: Spokane
STATE: Wa
ZIP: 99201
NARRATIVE: *** Side-by-side fires to be set by the Spokane Fire Department to help Spokane residents understand risks and home safety technology ***
"Sometimes people just need to see it to believe it," says Spokane Fire Department Fire Protection Engineer Dave Kokot. That's why the Spokane Fire Department will intentionally light two fires in front of a live audience on September 30, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. at the north parking lot of the North Bank Park (507 W. Cataldo Avenue).
"There's nothing like the heat and smoke of a real fire to help adults and children understand just how fast a home fire can be," says Kokot. "With the side-by-side comparison, we can show both the danger of fire and the value of having a fire sprinkler system installed."
This dramatic, yet safe, form of education has become increasingly popular with Fire Departments across the Country. On September 30, 2009, Spokane residents will see firsthand why a typical home fire becomes deadly in THREE MINUTES or less.
The Spokane Fire Department received financial support from Garco Construction, Advanced Fire Protection, Inland Empire Fire Chiefs, supporting local businesses and the Spokane Fire Department Foundation to bring this important event to Spokane. Spokane Fire Department employees built two structures to simulate the room and contents of a typical home. Each room contains common furnishings, window treatments and a working smoke alarm. Only one of the rooms contains a residential fire sprinkler. The two rooms will be transported to the Arena North Parking Lot where the fires will be lit.
The Spokane Fire Department will have firefighters and fire apparatus on hand as well. The demonstration will begin with an educational presentation and will be followed up with a general discussion and tour of the burned demonstration modules.
By providing this unique live fire comparison, people not only gain an appreciation for the rapid and destructive power of fire in a home; they also realize what an incredible advantage it is to have a fire sprinkler system installed if fire breaks out.
Many people already understand how vital it is to have working smoke alarms to warn us of fire. Unfortunately, home fire sprinklers are not as well-known or understood.
That is the primary reason why the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) secured a Federal Fire Prevention & Safety Grant to develop a free kit to help Fire Departments build and present side-by-side fire and sprinkler burn demonstrations in their communities.
Following an emergency call it takes 9-12 minutes on average, for a fire department to arrive on the fire scene. By that time, a fire in an un-sprinklered home will have spread, causing smoke and heat damage and threatening the lives of the residents. Local and national fire safety experts say widespread use of home fire sprinkler systems could save thousands of lives per year.
In a sprinklered home, the fire sprinklers control the fire quickly and limits damage and more importantly protects residents and first responders. Here are some other facts about home fire sprinkler systems:
*Fire sprinklers are supplied by household water - usually off the water main. Just like ordinary plumbing, sprinkler system piping is hidden behind walls and ceilings.
*The sprinklers are positioned along the piping and can be seen in ceilings or up high along certain walls.
*Sprinklers are activated only by the high temperature of a fire - typically between 135?-165?F and only sprinklers in an affected area activate. No other sprinkler heads flow water until or unless the high temperature is reached.
*Burned toast or other smoke cannot set off a sprinkler; neither can a smoke alarm that activates.
*Sprinklers are designed to flow between 10-25 gallons of water per minute. That's about 10-15 times less water flow than fire department hoses and under far less pressure.
*By operating while a fire is still small, a sprinkler controls or extinguishes a fire, slowing the spread of toxic smoke and deadly heat.
*That fast and effective action gives family members more time to get out safely, saving lives.
*The sprinkler confines the fire damage so that surrounding rooms are protected, saving valuables.
Free information is available about home fire sprinklers from HFSC's Web site. Visit www.HomeFireSprinkler.org to learn more about this life-saving technology and to see video clips and animations that answer common questions. You can even read about real-life fires where sprinklers saved lives.
The Spokane Fire Department is proud to work in partnership with the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition in bringing this important educational opportunity to Spokane. If you are building a new home, renovating or thinking of buying, take a few minutes to learn how you can add this LIFE-SAVING fire safety option.
PROBABLE CAUSE: N/A
DAMAGE EXTENT: N/A
DOLLAR LOSS:
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE:
MUTUAL AID: None Given
For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com
END OF RELEASE
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