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Firefighters spreading the word about home sprinklers

Penticton Fire Department to take part in Home Fire Sprinkler Day
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This weekend, the Penticton Fire Department is taking part in a North America-wide campaign to raise awareness of the growing dangers of home fires and the life-saving benefits of installing fire sprinklers in new homes.

Home Sprinkler Day, which was initiated by the National Fire Protection Association and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, is an opportunity for everyone in Penticton to learn about new home dangers, get the facts about lifesaving sprinkler technology and make progress against the home fire problem. The Penticton event will be held at the Farmers’ Market from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“Every year, the majority of fire deaths in North America happen at home,” said Cpt. Mike Richards, fire prevention officer. “Simply put, that’s unacceptable. There is a solution and it starts with local action.”

“Many people lose sight of the fact that home fires are dangerous not just to residents but also to firefighters,” said Richards. “Today’s new houses are built with lightweight construction and big open designs and they’re filled with synthetic furnishings. When they burn, they fail fast, and that environment places firefighters at risk from fire as well as toxins that lead to disease.”

What needs to happen, Richards said, is for building codes to change. Builders have a voice in those codes, and in the past, the codes have been influenced by lobbying against including home sprinkler protection.

In the past, the value has been seen as mostly to the purchaser, and an extra cost to the developer. But when a pilot project was done in a Calgary home development, they found that purchasers chose properties there over unsprinklered homes in a similar development.

Combined with lower prices to install the systems — in the range of $1.50 per square foot — the systems are making even more sense. Modern systems can be connected to the domestic water supply, and the sprinkler heads are inconspicuous.

Studies have shown that home sprinklers can reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by 80 per cent, and reduce the risk of property damage by 70 per cent.

“Most fire deaths occur because of smoke,” Richards said, explaining that happens long before the fire grows to a larger level. Home sprinklers could eliminate that risk by activating in the early stages of fire.

“That’s really the key,” said Richards. Early suppression of fires gives residents more time to escape safely, confines the fire and limits property damage, and gives firefighters more of a chance to get a blaze under control.


Steve Kidd
Senior reporter, Penticton Western News
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