Recently we had a customer contact us who stated he had a sprinkler operate in one of his smaller bathrooms. The system has been in operation 12 years. The owner had left a candle burning, which ignited the paint on the wall. Candles left burning are one of the most common causes of home fires.
Although this fire was small, the home owner was fortunate the sprinkler system did what it was designed to do, and extinguished what could have been a disastrous and devastating home fire. This bathroom was under 55 SF and per NFPA #13D does not require fire sprinkler protection. However, there was a sprinkler installed in this particular bathroom.
Upon speaking with the home owner, we learned, he did not contact the local fire department or call 911. He decided since the fire was extinguished and did not spread or cause damage to anything beyond the bathroom that it was not an emergency and calling them was not needed.
We cannot express enough the necessity of contacting your local fire department if this scenario happens to your home or place of business. Not only would the fire department have helped with clean up, but they would also need to document the success of a fire sprinkler operation.
We at Platte Valley Fire Protection are proud to be a part of ensuring the safety of homes, businesses and lives. Always remember, support your local Fire Department, and don’t forget to have your sprinkler systems inspected regularly.
http://www.nfpa.org/public-education/sby-topic/top-causes-of-fire/candle :to read more about how candle fire safety
