INDIANAPOLIS — During a heat wave like the one we are dealing with right now, the last thing you want to be worrying about is a fire. But if there is one, firefighters have to deal with those conditions. There are certain tools that can make it safer for them, like you can see from the pictures below.
After a fire with a sprinkler system:
In a demonstration, two sides of a trailer were set up: one equipped with fire sprinklers and the other without. The difference in how quickly the fire burned was noticeable.
After a fire without a sprinkler system:
“Sprinklers buy time, and time buys life. It buys time for the occupants to escape and buys time for the firefighters to arrive," Shane Ray, president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, explained.
In the midst of a heat wave, that time becomes even more critical.
“Firefighters, what they face is just total exhaustion because of how hot it is on these days,” Ray said. “That's where fire sprinklers help. Fire sprinklers contain the fire to where it starts, so much less physical straining on the firefighters.”
This week, Indianapolis firefighters participated in training at Peerless Pump, a company specializing in fire suppression systems. Scott Patterson, vice president of the fire business unit at Peerless Pump, shared the precautions they take during heat waves.
“Obviously, we provide a lot of water, ice, more frequent breaks, and we also shift our production schedules at times to get out of the heat of the day. So coming in earlier, leaving earlier, gets you out of that afternoon sun,” Patterson said.
Patterson emphasized the importance of awareness about fire safety measures.
“Awareness and knowing that looking for a sprinkler in a hotel or an apartment is crucial," he said. “My daughter goes to school here locally, and one of the things we did before we put her in that apartment was to make sure that it has a sprinkler.”
According to the National Fire Sprinkler Association, since the 2009 adoption of the International Residential Code, which mandates fire sprinklers in new homes, Indiana has removed that part of the code for state regulations.
This issue comes as the association reports that fire deaths have risen since the 1980s and 90s. The NFSA states that approximately 3,000 people die in fires each year in the United States, alongside nearly half a million fires annually. On average, seven people die every day due to fires.
