Demonstration highlights Home Fire Sprinkler Week in Hadley

May 23, 2023 | Bill Zito
bzito@thereminder.com

A demonstration took place in Hadley to illustrate the benefits of home sprinkler systems.
Reminder Publishing photo by Bill Zito

HADLEY — A demonstration calling attention to the effectiveness of home sprinkler systems was presented May 16 at American Legion Post 271 to mark Home Fire Sprinkler Week, May 14-20.

The live fire exercise, conducted in the post parking lot featured a side-by-side display of identical home living room settings, one equipped with a sprinkler system and one without.

The Hadley Fire Department and the state fire marshal were behind the display, designed to highlight the benefits of the in-home equipment not only as a protection of life and property but also as efficient tools to reduce toxic and carbon emissions and to dramatically cut down on water usage in fighting home fires.

State Fire Marshal spokesman Jake Wark made note of the modern changes in overall home construction that often lead to the accelerated spread in home fires, leading to less time overall for residents to escape flames and smoke and for firefighters to contain and extinguish the threat.

“Many years ago, you had heavy construction using full beams of heavy timber in the building of a house and it burned much more slowly than the lightweight construction of today,” he said.

Wark also said the current open floor plans used in modern home designs allow for more oxygen to feed the flames in house fires and increase the threat.

“During Home Fire Sprinkler Week, we’re drawing attention to the dramatic benefits of home fire sprinklers which are the fastest way to put water on a fire. In most cases a single sprinkler head is sufficient to contain and extinguish a room fire,” Wark added.

The increased use, he said, of more plastics and synthetic fibers means fires burn and spread more quickly and create a dark and debilitating smoke.

“The rapid growth of a fire in a residential setting today means a fire at home can become deadly in less than three minutes and many people may need more than three minutes to safely escape,” Wark said.

During the live demonstration, the two room settings, set on a trailer platform were set ablaze as a team of firefighters stood by with a fire hose.

State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said sprinklers will provide the best protection a family can have, and they are currently required in multiple family dwellings that are newly constructed or have undergone substantial renovation.

“Residential sprinklers have not been something that’s been adopted in the building codes but they’re something that we encourage as fire service professionals and we hope in the future that new homes will be built with residential sprinklers included in them,” he said.

Ostroskey also said that those residents not making use of municipal water service or with well or low-pressure concerns could still make use of a sprinkler system by way of an installed water tank.

Demonstrating a room setting equipped with a sprinkler system, a trash can containing newspaper was ignited, the flames and smoke triggering a smoke alarm followed by the sprinkler system, quickly reducing the flames, and changing black smoke to a diluted gray.

The adjoining identical room without the sprinklers was set with same type of fire, quickly spreading to ceiling height, overtaking furnishings, creating a thick black smoke, and becoming fully engulfed and reaching a flashover point withln 90 seconds as the fire crew began to knock down the flames.

“In addition to protecting your family and your belongings, residential sprinklers also raise the level of protection for the responding firefighters, Ostroskey said.

Ostroskey said sprinklers can also reduce the overall damage to the home, not only in fire destruction but the damage caused by the water-based fire suppression.

“A sprinkler head will usually use 13 to 18 gallons of water per minute in a residential setting whereas the fire hose will use 125 to 150 gallons per minute,” he noted.

Asked about the lack of commonality in the inclusion of sprinklers in new or modern single family home construction, Hadley Fire Chief Michael Spanknebel said it sometimes comes down to cost.

“I think the concern is the price, folks think this is an exorbitant cost and there’s been some misinformation out there. Basically, you can put a sprinkler system in your home during construction, new construction and it would probably be about the cost of putting in new marble countertops.”

Spanknebel said after construction, retrofitting a sprinkler system would be more expensive but still would be beneficial from a safety standpoint and could also have a positive impact on the cost of homeowner insurance.

Recommended as well during the presentation were planned and rehearsed escape routes from a burning home, closing doors behind flames and making quick contact with responding firefighters on scene as methods in keeping everyone safe.

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