Columns

Comparing Fires: A Side-by-Side Demonstration

NFPA Journal®, November/Decemberber 2007

You know you have the right formula for fire safety education when you can attract a big crowd in 90˚F heat and high humidity, despite competing attractions nearby that include a live band, barbeque food and helicopter rides.

That was the setting in Brookfield , Wisconsin this past August, when I was invited along with the other board members of the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) to attend a live side-by-side fire demonstration that was being held as part of that city’s National Night Out community event.

Coordinated jointly by the Brookfield Fire Department and the National Fire Sprinkler Association’s Wisconsin chapter, this demonstration included two five-sided rooms constructed outdoors and similarly outfitted with ordinary household furnishings. Both rooms were equipped with smoke alarms but only one room had a fire sprinkler installed in it.

With the admiration of everyone in the audience, three Brookfield firefighters in full gear were at the ready with charged hose lines. After a brief presentation about home fire dangers, a fire was lit in a trash can in each room at the same time and the fire soon spread to the upholstered furniture and curtains. The audience stood attentively as the flames rapidly grew—most had never witnessed the progression of a “typical room and contents” home fire.

The sprinkler operated quickly and fully doused the flames in one side, while thick smoke billowed out of the unsprinklered side. As the room on this side went to flashover, most everyone in the audience instinctively took a step or two back. With one fire fully extinguished, the firefighters stepped in to suppress the unsprinklered fire. The results were clear—the sprinklered room had all of its contents intact with minimal damage, while the unsprinklered side was destroyed except for the shell of the room. It was all over in only a few minutes, but the impact on the audience will last much longer.

Looking back on that day in Brookfield , I am reminded why this form of education works so well—even on a sweltering day. No matter the age, people can’t resist the combination of firefighters, fire trucks and a live fire demonstration. A live fire demonstration can convince even the most stubborn among us of fire’s true danger. Sure, we can describe how rapidly a fire can grow, or how dark and choking smoke is or how searing the heat is. But nothing is as influential as a first-hand visual—and safe—fire experience.

The key point—that the sprinklered fire is the “preferred fire” is self-evident. There’s no need to lecture.

Consider adding this type of demonstration to your community educational outreach. The HFSC offers the fire service a wide range of free educational and presentation materials, including a brand new education kit. The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition can help supplement that experience. For more information and to obtain these materials, visit the HFSC’s website at homefiresprinkler.org .