Fire Sprinkler and Smoke Alarm Saves Family; Elkton Home From Significant Damage
ELKTON, MD (January 8, 2023) - State Fire Marshals are crediting a smoke alarm and a home fire sprinkler system for saving the lives of a family and reducing significant property damage at a Elkton home late last night.
Singerly Fire Company and mutual-aid departments were called to the home just after 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning for a reported dwelling fire in the 200 block of Independence Drive after the occupant discovered a fire in a bedroom after a smoke alarm sounded. Upon arrival, the fire department determined the fire had been extinguished with one fire sprinkler that had activated.
Fire investigators concluded the fire was an accident resulting from a malfunctioning oscillating fan. The investigation determined that the activation of only one automatic fire sprinkler prevented the fire from spreading from the bedroom into the remainder of the home. Damage was limited to an estimated $10,000, and no injuries were reported. One adult and two kids, ages 15 & 8, are being temporarily assisted by other family members.
Good article with a relatively happy ending. And an incident to motivate reviewing report narrations and reporting pertaining to smoke and CO detectors.
Agreed…several years ago my GF and I were on vacation in our suite with a ceiling fan running. My GF was walking under the fan when it started shooting out sparks in all directions. She was showered in sparks. Super glad we were there to turn it off immediately. To this day, I don’t leave my home with a ceiling fan running.
In my area, and only certain cities, the only residential sprinklers systems I’ve seen are in condos. I keep hearing rumors about single family homes but I think the added cost is the biggest road block to bringing that to reality.
Maryland requires a residential fire sprinkler in all new one- or two-family homes across the state. Maryland law also prohibits local governments from weakening the sprinkler requirement in their jurisdiction’s building codes.
From what I have gathered, it is not cost prohibitive to install sprinklers during the original construction. The national average was around $2/sq.ft of sprinkled area a few years ago, before the latest round of inflation. The exact price also depends upon the level of competition in your area, which is impacted by how long the regulation has been in-place. Residential fire sprinkler systems have been required for new single-family home construction in California since 2011, so there are many specialist firms already that have responded to the market focusing on sprinkler system installations.
Overall, fire sprinklers have numerous advantages, which become more pronounced the farther the home is from a fire department. They have been required in commercial and industrial buildings for many decades.
The home builders have voiced many objections to the law, but I think their gripe is mostly about the additional hassle to get yet another subcontractor and inspection sequence involved.
However, the builder gripes have more substance for areas of the state that see very cold temperatures. All the sprinkler piping in unconditioned spaces of homes in those areas need to be insulated/protected to prevent pipe bursts in winter.
In my experience here in Maryland, I estimate that 2 out of 3, maybe even 3 out of 4 homes I inspect have at least one smoke alarm that is either beyond the expiration date and/or is non-compliant (incorrect type) for the State requirements. It is sad that so many people are not educated on smoke alarms or even bother to test them or check the dates. It is a common defect/deficiency in my reports, unfortunately. I am glad in this case that the alarm and sprinkler system saved lives.
