Time is precious when it comes to structure fires.
In the few minutes it takes first responders to get to the site of a fire, the building may already be engulfed in flames with little salvageable.
“Our first goal is always to make sure the families and people inside a home get out alright,” said Peter Lattanzio, former Colonie fire chief and president of C & L Inspection Services.
However, fire and code enforcement officials believe property and lives can be saved if homeowners install the proper equipment in their homes. On Friday, May 17, the New York State Building Officials Conference held a fire demonstration for its members at the Bethlehem Fire Training Facility off Winne Place in Glenmont. It was held so those in attendance could “see firsthand the power of fire and how effective fire sprinklers can be” when installed in the home.
Lattanzio said similar demonstrations are held for local code enforcement and government officials about once a year in order to give them perspective.
“Most people only see what’s in movies, they’re not living it like we are,” he said. “What’s depicted isn’t realistic.”
For the demonstration, fire officials set up an insulated, plywood structure with two similar rooms sitting side-by-side. In each room were two arm chairs, a television sitting on a table and an “accelerant” of newspapers strewn about. Both rooms looked the same, but one had a sprinkler system and one did not.
The two rooms were lit on fire separately to better show the difference a sprinkler system can make. Several members of the Delmar Fire Department entered the first room and gently lit several newspapers on fire with a flare. It took about 4 minutes before the room was fully engulfed.
Lattanzio said if the situation had been a real structure fire, the levels of carbon monoxide in the room would most likely have caused anyone within the home to pass out within the first three minutes. Temperatures in the first room were estimated to have reached about 1,500 to 1,900 degrees before fire officials doused the flames.
“You have to remember that a cake bakes in the oven at about 350 degrees,” Lattanzio said.
All of the furniture in the room was completely destroyed, and the interior of the building was burnt out. In that type of scenario, fire officials said the structure would have been determined a loss and responders would instead work to make sure the fire was contained to one home.
The same steps were taken to set the second room on fire, however after about two minutes a sprinkler system kicked in. Temperatures in the second room only reached about 165 degrees. The furniture was soaked and partially burnt, but the interior of the room was fine.
“It speaks for itself, sprinklers obviously do a great job,” said Dan Ryan, chief of the Delmar Fire Department. He said firefighters are most likely to encounter fires like those in the first room.
The demonstration was done in part to encourage local code enforcement officials to advocate for a new state law that would mandate sprinkler systems to be placed in newly built one- and two-family homes, or those that undergo a large renovation. All commercial, retail and apartment buildings are already required to have sprinkler systems.
Lattanzio said he believes the new law will pass and go into effect by next year. It’s estimated that the installation of a sprinkler system to an existing home would cost about $2.40 per square foot.
Lattanzio said sprinklers would only be activated in rooms where a fire originates or if the fire happens to spread and other rooms reach 160 degrees. This helps to control the fire, reduce carbon monoxide emissions and save property.
“There are a lot of nonbelievers out there who think installing them isn’t worth the cost, but this is our proof,” said Lattanzio. “It’s always been an uphill fight.”