Understanding The Edgewater, New Jersey Fire
PATTERSON, N.Y., Feb. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Fire Sprinkler Association would like to express our concern for those impacted by the January 21st fire in Edgewater, New Jersey. We are grateful that no one lost their life in this fire. We are proud that the firefighters operated as safely as possible in trying to contain the blaze to the building in which it started, and we know they prevented damage to other buildings nearby.
It appears that this fire started in an area that was not protected by an automatic fire sprinkler. As the videos show, when it moved to the attic and on the outside of the building where there are also no fire sprinklers, the fire grew to a size that the interior fire sprinkler system was not designed to contain.
The fire sprinkler system in the building was designed, installed, and maintained as a life safety system, which is intended to allow occupants enough time to escape. Our member fire sprinkler contractors installed components in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low-Rise Residential Occupancies, also known as NFPA 13R.
"While we are saddened by the impact of this fire on the Edgewater residents and community, we are grateful that no lives were lost," explains NFSA President Russ Fleming. "It's important to understand the logic behind this type of sprinkler system. Since the NFPA 13R standard was first developed 25 years ago, it has been intended to provide a high degree of life safety for a reasonable cost, not complete property protection."
A fire sprinkler system installed in accordance with NFPA 13R provides fire sprinklers in areas where statistics show that fatal fires tend to originate. Using this life safety approach, there is still the possibility of the occasional fire like this one where the fire spreads through nonsprinklered building areas. Various options are available to enhance the level of protection provided, including the use of a complete fire sprinkler system, known as an NFPA 13 system. However, cities and states also have the ability to limit the risk of incidents involving 13R systems through other measures. This would take the form of traditional measures employed by building codes to establish a maximum foreseeable loss, either by limiting the size of the building or by separating buildings with the use of fire walls that extend beyond the roof line.
It is important to note that there are fires every day in apartment complexes with fire sprinkler systems installed in accordance with NFPA 13R that do not make the news because no lives are lost and property damage is minimal. According to the NFPA, 96% of all fires in properties protected with a properly designed, installed, and maintained fire sprinkler system are contained by the activation of only one or two fire sprinklers. Had this fire started in a kitchen, bedroom, living room, or hallway the results would have been much different.
For more information on fire sprinklers and how they work, visit our website at www.nfsa.org or call us at 845-878-4200. Fire sprinklers save lives, and provide valuable life safety protection for communities across America.
SOURCE The National Fire Sprinkler Association
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