Residential Fire Sprinklers .com

Protecting Your Home & Family

Officials say two firefighters died while battling a house fire in Connecticut.

Bridgeport Deputy Fire Chief Robert Petrucelli says the two men were found unconscious Saturday on the top floor of the three-story house after they sent out mayday calls.

Steven Velazquez and Michael Baik were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Officials say Velazquez and Baik were searching for people in need of rescue and ventilating the house.

No residents were injured. Officials say three or four other firefighters were treated at hospitals for their injuries and released.

The state fire marshal’s office will investigate the cause of the fire and examine the equipment used by Velazquez and Baik.

Mayor Bill Finch says Baik had been a firefighter for two years and Velazquez became lieutenant in February.

To read the full article click here.

Police say an early-morning Indiana house fire killed three teenagers trapped on an upper floor despite efforts by an officer who spotted the blaze and tried to rescue them.

Officer Josh Prater saw a fire at the home in Wabash shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday. Police say he reported it to dispatch and tried to get inside to rescue the teens, but was turned back by smoke, flames and heat.

A statement from police says 17-year-old Caitlin D. Burke, 15-year-old Jacob J. Johnson and 13-year-old Jared R. Johnson died in the blaze. Their parents, Jared and Martha Johnson, escaped. They had told Prater the teens were trapped.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

To read the full article click here.

.

The Jesusita fire started Tuesday, May 5, 2009, in San Roque Canyon. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County the next day, freeing up money and resources immediately to fight the fire.

Along Las Canoas Road, rubble remains where homes once stood after the wind-driven fire raced through the hillsides north of the city of Santa Barbara on Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters did what they could to protect homes in the area, but the danger on the ground forced them to retreat from some neighborhoods.

Eleven firefighters were injured in the fire and more than 13,500 residents forced to flee. The fire cost more than $15.5 million to fight and the value of the 78 homes destroyed in the Santa Barbara foothills could easily could reach $109 million.

By Gal Tziperman Lotan – Taunton Daily Gazette

It was a shock. But maybe it shouldn’t have been. Oudah Frawi and his two infant sons died last week when a fire gutted their basement apartment in Quincy. A month earlier, three Plymouth seniors died in two separate house fires, days apart.

The blazes raised many questions, including: If fire safety is so rigorously taught in schools and community centers, with laws requiring sprinklers and detectors, why do more than 3,000 people die annually in residential fires?

“On some level, we’re victims of success,” said Lorraine Carli of the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy. “People aren’t as aware of fires, and not as many people feel like ‘that could happen to me.’”

And yet it’s happening more. Residential fires rose 11 percent statewide in 2007, according to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System. And the six South Shore fire fatalities in a month illustrate that the situation isn’t getting any better.

“It is very important that people still be very much aware of that fact, and aware that the vast majority of home fires can be prevented,” Carli said.

And more importantly, experts say, is that deaths in house fires can be prevented. Senior citizens are particularly vulnerable, Deputy Fire Chief William Carrico of Duxbury said. Those aged 65 to 74 are twice as likely to die in a fire as the general population, and people 85 and older are more than five times as likely to die in a fire, the U.S. Fire Administration reports.

Carrico suggests that adult children conduct regular safety inspections in their parents’ homes, making sure that walkways are clear of tripping hazards and smoke detectors on every level are fully functional.

“There are a lot of smart people out there, regardless of how old they are,” he said. “We’re just reminding them of these safety issues.”

Fire officials said parents must pay special attention to young children. Practice is key so that kids, who might hesitate because they are too scared or confused to move, know what to do if an alarm sounds.

Children who learn how the alarm works, by participating in regular fire drills or pressing the button triggering the alarm themselves, will function better in case of a fire, Carrico said.

“A lot of kids are afraid of smoke detectors,” Carrico said. “When it goes off they cover their ears and start screaming because they don’t understand it’s an important tool.”

Fire safety experts stress making sure safeguards, like detectors and sprinklers, are working. The Plymouth home of Eduardo and Maria Rosa Tavares, who died Feb. 12, did not have working smoke detectors. Frawi’s apartment also didn’t have smoke detectors, and the building’s central fire alarm system was turned off and silent.

It’s imperative the whole family has, and knows, an escape plan – including charting two ways out of every room. When they see smoke or flames, residents should quickly leave the house, then call 911, said Jennifer Mieth, state Department of Fire Services spokeswoman.

To read the full article click here.

By Scott McDonnell – WSHM-TV

The family that lived in the unit where the fire started at Meadowbrook Apartments in Northampton told us how it happened, and the fire chief explained why it grew out of control.

Residents of the Meadowbrook Apartments in Northampton displaced by Monday’s fire are pretty much left with nothing. They’re now focusing on the simple things, getting clothes and finding a place to sleep Tuesday night.

“When I walked out the door and saw the flames I just ran,” said resident Leslie Lapoint

The fire that burned 21 people out of their homes started in Leslie La Point’s apartment. Her son Josh says a friend of family tossed a cigarette into a wastebasket.

“The fire started in my sister’s room, her boyfriend put an ash tray with a couple of cigarettes”

Someone tried to fight it with a fire extinguisher, but the flames spread quickly from their second floor apartment to the entire three- story building.

By the time Northampton firefighters arrived, the fire had grown out of control, because there were no sprinklers to stop it.

“The thing that would have controlled the fire better than anything else would have been on individual sprinkler head in the apartment of origin,” said Fire Chief Brian Duggan.

If this complex was built recently, it’s possible only one apartment would have been damaged, and not a dozen.

But the Meadowbrook apartments, built back in 1973, were not required by law to have sprinklers installed.

For Chyrstal and Miguel Candelaria, who lived directly above the apartment where the fire started, a legal loophole cost them everything they own.

“Wedding dresses, couches, allot of memories, computers filled with memories from like ten years, I had a hard drive filled our pictures filled with the child’s birthdays, coats, we lost everything.”

Digital photo albums are now ashes. Pictures of long lost family members, the only remaining portraits of mothers, fathers, grandparents as memories fade away

“Those” things were all that was left to remind them.”

For such a Massive amount of destruction, pain and loss, it makes the small, thoughtless cause of the fire more difficult to swallow.

“We lost everything, we don’t even have an apartment”, said Josh Lapoint

There’s no ordinance on the books in Northampton that requires property owners to add fire sprinklers, but as a renter, it’s something you may want to look for.

To read the full article click here.

By Jackee Coe – The Arizona Republic

A fire in a back room of a trailer home in Goodyear served as a reminder of basic fire safety practices and the value of residential fire sprinklers.

The Goodyear Fire Department received a call about 5:30 p.m. Saturday that a home in the Canada Village community on the 18000 block of West Lynwood was on fire, spokesman Russ Braden said.

“When we pulled out and we’re driving down there, we could see a column of smoke,” he said.

Firefighters arrived on scene in about six minutes and had the fire under control after 15 minutes, he said. Buckeye and Avondale units helped extinguish the blaze.

No one was home and there were no injuries, but damage was estimated at $140,000.

The owner of the home told officials the fire was probably started by a radiant floor heater someone accidentally left on, Braden said.

“That’s why you always have to be very careful with those. They get very hot,” he said.

Braden noted there was no fire sprinkler system in the home. Sprinklers aren’t required for homes smaller than 5,000 square feet, but they can make a significant difference.

“It really limits the damage and exposure to everyone,” he said. “They’re life safety. You save lives with them, protect property, reduce the damage because in the time it takes us to get there, it’s going to burn that much longer.”

Sprinkler systems go off quickly and are “very effective” in containing the fire before it spreads, he added.

“I’ve been on both sides where I’ve seen where it really could have made a big difference and I’ve seen . . . where they’ve made big differences with stopping the fire and forward progress and saving a lot of property,” Braden said.

The Fire Department hopes to see more fire sprinklers added to homes as Goodyear continues to grow.

To read the full article click here.

Since Thanksgiving 2008, there have been more than 158 fatal fires in the United States resulting in over 200 fire fatalities.

Just between between Christmas Eve and January 7 the following fatality fires were reported by the news media:

* On Christmas Eve, four died in a house fire in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. All of the victims were children and officials cannot be certain whether smoke alarms worked.

* Four adults and three children died in a southwest Philadelphia home the day after Christmas when gasoline was used to fuel a kerosene heater. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.

* In Baltimore, two people died in a fire above a grocery store. A young couple died in the blaze and investigators found no working smoke alarms in the building.

* In Washington, D.C. on New Year’s Day, six individuals died in a house fire on Jackson Street, Northeast. While the cause was listed as accidental/electrical, officials are not sure smoke alarms worked properly.

* Eight people, including four children, died in a residential fire in Richland, New York. The cause is still under investigation, however officials believe the fire may have been caused by a wood stove. The home had no working smoke alarms.

* Three people, including two teenage girls, died after an early morning house fire in Ringling, Oklahoma. Officials say the fire, caused by a lit gas stove being used as an alternative heating source, began while at least two of the victims were still in bed.

* There were no working smoke alarms in a Southeast Side Chicago home where three children — a 7-month-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, and a 3-year-old girl — died in a fire.

“The 2008 holiday season and the start of 2009 may be recorded as one of the deadliest for residential fires in recent memory of the fire service,” said Cade. “Not only have there been a significant number of preventable fires, but the occurrences of multiple fatalities resulting from these fires are simply unacceptable within our nation. There should be a smoke alarm protecting every person in this nation today, particularly as we sleep.”

The US Fire Administration, NFPA and fire service leaders from across the country are urging residents to prevent tragedies by testing and maintaining smoke alarms and practicing a fire escape plan.

Smoke alarms are a very important means of preventing home fire fatalities by providing an early warning signal so family members can escape. The combination of smoke alarms and an installed residential fire sprinkler system that controls the fire provides the best protection in a home fire.

By Anna Simon – Greenville News

Two fires that destroyed much of a senior-living complex early Sunday have been ruled arson, Anderson Fire Chief Jack Abraham said Monday.

While investigators piece together clues from the scene, the American Red Cross in Anderson County is working to help residents who lost their homes in the fire find housing, said Mary Thomas, chief fundraising officer for the agency’s Upstate Chapter.

Residents of all 45 occupied units in the complex have had to leave their apartments, Abraham said. Utilities have been turned off because of the extent of the damage by fire, water and smoke, Abraham said.

An investigation by the state Law Enforcement Division Arson Tack Force and Anderson police and fire investigators has concluded that both fires at Heatherwood Apartments were arson, Abraham said.

Abraham said authorities believe the fires are connected, and asked that anyone with any information that may be helpful concerning the investigation of the fires call the Arson Hotline at 1-800-922-7766.

Firefighters responding to a 1:27 a.m. fire Sunday found magazines burning on a table in the lobby. A second fir that appears to have started on the second floor was reported at 4:35 a.m. Sunday and destroyed much of the complex, Abraham said.

Six residents were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, along with two police officers who suffered from smoke inhalation, Abraham said. Another 45 displaced residents were taken to a Red Cross shelter.

Many of the displaced residents are staying with family members, but others need assistance, Thomas said.

To read the full article click here.

Residents of Heatherwood Apartments in Anderson were homeless this morning after a “suspicious” fire destroyed much of senior-living complex early today.

The fire was reported at 4:35 a.m., just hours after firefighters had responded to another fire at the same building. City fire chief Jack Abraham said when firefighters responded to the first call, at 1:27 a.m., they found magazines burning on a table in the lobby.

The cause of the second fire is being investigated today by SLED, Anderson City Fire and Anderson City Police arson investigators.

“It is suspicious, because it was the second fire of the night in the same building, and basically in the same location, which was the center lobby area, only the second fire appears to have started on the second floor.”

Of the first fire, Abraham said the magazines “would have had to have been set on fire intentionally.”

Abraham said all of the building?s tenants had been accounted for as of mid-Sunday morning. Six residents had to be transported to the hospital ?with non-life-threatening injuries,? Abraham said, along with two city police officers who suffered from smoke inhalation.

The Red Cross opened a shelter at Cornerstone Church, and 45 displaced residents were transported to the shelter, Abraham said.

The building was not equipped with a sprinkler system, which Abraham said was not a code violation because when the apartments were constructed, sprinklers were not required.

“If this building had been sprinklered, as with most residential structure fires, the damage would have been minimal and the occupants would have been eating breakfast at their breakfast tables, not dislodged for probably months,” he said.

To read the full article click here.

By Matt Brezius – Pottstown Mercury

It has been nearly four weeks since the massive blaze that ripped through the Riverwalk at Millennium apartment complex in Conshohocken, but the catastrophic fire is still making news.

Three lawsuits have been filed in Montgomery County Court as some continue to place blame despite the incident being ruled accidental.

Now, insurance companies are climbing on board as four major providers that insured tenants’ property and/or vehicles have filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for damages they and their clients sustained due to the blaze.

With the recent talk that someone should be held responsible, The Times Herald, which is owned by the Journal Register Company and is a sister paper to The Mercury, took a look back into the process of how Riverwalk developed by sifting through building permits, zoning records and building codes.

A question most often asked by the public is why there were not any sprinkler systems or firewalls in the attics of the apartment buildings, the area where the fire spread so quickly.

The answer: Because the law does not require them. The apartment complex was built under the National Fire Protection Association’s code of 13-Residential, meaning it would be a residential building allowing up to and including four floors.

According to NFPA 13-R, sprinklers shall not be required in attics, penthouse equipment rooms, elevator machine rooms, concealed spaces dedicated exclusively to and containing only dwelling unit ventilation equipment, crawl spaces, floor/ceiling spaces, elevator shafts and other concealed spaces that are not used or intended for living purposes or storage and do not contain fuel-fired equipment.

David Smith, an information specialist with the Department of Labor and Industry, said that in order to build under NFPA 13-R, additional firewalls had to be installed within the buildings, but were not required in any specific area.

“They weren’t forced to put the firewalls in one area instead of another, no. Under the Fire and Panic Act, they did have to put draft stoppers in the attics, but were not required to put firewalls there,” Smith said. “According to the paperwork, it seems like everything was done exactly to code.”

The complex was also given the green light by several inspection companies, including Phiscon Enterprises Inc., which reviews the fire protection sprinkler drawings and plans. According to an inspection report dated May 5, 2004, Phiscon Enterprises Inc. stated the sprinkler system criterion in place was correct based on NFPA 13-R.

Another question that has been circulating is why Riverwalk wasn’t held to federal building standards after receiving a $2 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

John F. Nugent, the executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County, said none of that federal money was ever accepted because the original proposal to which the money was granted had been changed.

“This project was originally proposed to be an office building with a parking garage, but O’Neill Properties elected not to move forward with it, so the funds were never formally accepted because they changed the use of the land,” Nugent said. “To my knowledge, no state or federal money was put toward this project.”

The NFPA said the code is designed to save lives, not buildings, and that attic fires generally aren’t life-threatening, which is why sprinklers are not required. Some community members are voicing concerns that this may not have been the best philosophy.

View more articles about the Conshohocken Apartment Fire

To read the full article click here.