Dear Editor,
Cheers to the Dispatch for raising public awareness of the
importance of including fire sprinklers in residential
construction.
Dear Editor,
Cheers to the Dispatch for raising public awareness of the importance of including fire sprinklers in residential construction. Your article however, somewhat missed the mark on the real reason fire sprinklers should be a part of all residential projects.
Although it is true that 90 percent of the time a fire sprinkling system will actually extinguish the fire before firefighters arrive, it’s not really about response time, minimizing property damage, or willingness to assume a certain level of risk (I’m appalled that an insurance broker would even say this). The real purpose of the fire sprinkler system is to save lives.
During a fire, unburned flammable gasses collect along the ceiling, spreading throughout the dwelling. It is these gasses that activate the smoke detector. As the fire grows, temperatures rapidly rise to the point of igniting these gasses into a raging inferno engulfing the entire structure.
This phenomenon, called flash over, can occur within minutes of the initial fire.
When a fire sprinkler is activated, the flow of water reduces the temperature of the fire delaying or altogether preventing flash over. This gives the occupants ample time to safely evacuate.
To my knowledge, fire sprinklers have been effective in preventing loss of life in nearly 100 percent of the home fires in which they were installed.
Steve Andrade, Gilroy
