Firefighters Conduct Fire Sprinkler Demonstration at West Haven High School

When responding to a fire, seconds could be the difference between life and death.

“Our opinion is with the technology we have today,” West Haven Fire Marshal Keith Flood said, “why are we still killing people in house fires when there’s no need to?”

At West Haven High School, firefighters demonstrated the difference a sprinkler system makes in minimizing a fire’s destruction.

Thanks to a $1,500 grant from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coaltion, 10th through 12th grade students in a construction class built two wooden structures for the simulation.

“We learned that the sprinklers are definitely a big help when it comes to the houses being on fire,” student James Simmons said.

In the first fire, without a sprinkler in place, “within a minute and a half, we went to fully involved,” Flood said.

Next came the controlled burn of the structure with a working sprinkler.

“And within 32 seconds the sprinkler goes off,” Flood said, “and you saw the damage for yourself, there’s minimal damage in that room.”

West Haven State Representative Stephen Dargan said he will continue fighting in Hartford to require builders to install sprinkler systems in new family homes.

“For the amount of money that people put into a new home,” he said, “the percentage of a sprinkler system is so small when you look at the safety of some loved one.”

Until state lawmakers act, Flood is urging people buying new homes to ask builders to install fire sprinklers.

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