TACOMA, Wash. — October 6 – 12 is Fire Prevention Week. The National Fire Sprinkler Association is all about fire prevention and once again they've invited Evening Host Jim Dever to help with a demonstration.
"Today, we're going to be doing a side-by-side burn demonstration. One side of this trailer will show a structure with fire sprinklers installed in it. The other side will not. There will be quite the difference between the side without fire protection versus the side with fire protection," said Kris Hillstrom with Emerald Fire LCC.
“When the sprinkler head activates, it's doing a couple of things. It's containing the fire from spreading to the rest of the structure. It's also cooling the air in the room. A lot of people don't think about it, but the air in a room that's having a fire event is super-heated. If you were laying in a bed or sitting on a couch or something like that, it might be only 150 degrees down low, but when you stand up, you're standing up into a pocket of air that is 400 or 500 degrees or even more,” said Hillstrom. “Fire is really fast, but fire sprinklers are faster. A lot of people don't realize how quickly a fire can spread throughout a structure. Fire sprinklers give the occupants time, time to escape, time to get their family out or exit a building that's having a fire event.”
Today’s demonstration was assisted by members of the Tacoma Fire Department who immediately recruited Jim.
"My question for you is, what can I do to help?” said Jim.
“Oh, we'll get you in the mix here, Jim, today's your lucky day. We got some gear for you. We're gonna put you to work," said Ron Ron Herrera with Tacoma FD.
After Jim put on his firemen’s gear the demonstration started by igniting a fire on the side with sprinklers installed.
"You can see here that fire is starting. It's quickly going up the curtains,” said Hillstrom, describing the scene to Jim.
In less than 60 seconds the fire sprinklers began dousing the flames.
“The fire is being contained, the air in the room is being cooled. The fire is now basically out,” Hillstrom said.
Next was the side without sprinklers installed.
“You can see those flames starting to develop pretty quickly, within just a few seconds of that fire starting in the waste bin, it's starting to go up the back of the wall. It's enveloping the couch, the window curtains, the furniture is starting to catch,” described Hillstrom.
“It's scary how fast it moves,” said Jim.
After a couple of minutes, the room burst into a giant fireball. “That's the thermal runaway or flashover,” Hillstrom said.
When the smoke cleared it was easy to see which side survived the fire best.
“Jim, you can see the side without the fire sprinklers, pretty much a total loss. Nothing's really survived in here,” said Hillstrom. "Having fire sprinklers installed in your home or your building, it's like having your own personal firefighter right there."
More information on the benefits of fire sprinklers can be found at the Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board of Puget Sound website.
Sponsored by the Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board of Puget Sound
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