A live demonstration of the importance of home smoke alarms and sprinklers.

Lake Stevens Fire was awarded a $1,000 stipend from the national nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) to increase its home fire sprinkler education locally by conducting a live fire and sprinkler side-by-side educational demonstration.

This live demonstration will take place at Haggen’s Parking lot during October which is Fire Prevention Month.
With funding through a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant awarded by the Grant Programs Directorate of FEMA, HFSC selected 100 fire departments nationwide that participate in the “Built for Life Fire Department” program to receive the stipend. “Built for Life Fire Departments” commit to making home fire sprinklers a focus of their educational efforts.
 “By providing this unique live fire comparison, people not only gain an appreciation for fire power; they also realize what an incredible advantage it is to have a fire sprinkler system installed if fire breaks out,” says Lake Stevens Fire Marshal, Robert Marshall.

Many people already understand how vital it is to have working smoke alarms to warn us of a fire. But home fire sprinklers are not as well known or understood. That’s one reason why the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) secured a federal Fire Prevention & Safety Grant to develop a free kit to help fire departments build and present side-by-side fire and sprinkler burn demonstrations in their communities.

Following an emergency call, the response time for the first engine on scene at a residential fire for Lake Stevens Fire in 2009 was 10 minutes 21 seconds or less 90 percent of the time.

By that time, a fire in an unsprinkled home will have spread, causing smoke and heat damage and threatening the lives of the residents. Local and national fire safety experts say widespread use of home fire sprinkler systems could save thousands of lives per year.

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