More than 4,400 books were ruined and a school day canceled after a sprinkler system erroneously flooded a portion of the Meeteetse library on Sunday afternoon.

The damage at the Park County-run library located inside the Meeteetse school was generally limited to a section containing Western novels and non-fiction books, along with a nearby school classroom (see photos at the bottom of this article).

Meeteetse Assistant Principal Cory Dziowgo said the fire suppression system worked like its supposed to. Unfortunately, the system had been activated in error by a malfunctioning heating unit.

There wasnt an actual fire, it just overheated, Dziowgo said.

Park County Library Director Frances Clymer said the roof-mounted unit began pouring hot air into the library and the sprinkler valve closest to the air vent broke open.

Then it spewed, I believe, over 1,000 gallons of water into the building, Clymer said.

That wasnt because of a slow response time.

Dziowgo who also is a member of the Meeteetse Volunteer Fire Department said the firemen had the sprinklers shut off within five to 10 minutes of the system tripping.

Clymer praised Park County Buildings and Grounds, the Meeteetse school district facilities crew and Varney Clean Care for their prompt response after the flooding.

They really got a handle on it very quickly, Clymer said. I was real impressed with their responsiveness.

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Sprinkler system floods Meeteetse library

COVINGTON -- Although smoke alarms and fire extinguishers are what we hear the most about when fire protection is discussed, residential sprinklers are the most effective preventer of fire-relateddeath and property damage, according to the Newton County Fire Service.

"Newton County Fire is a strong supporter of residential sprinklers. It is a proven fact that home sprinklers save lives and property in our community, but also the safety and lives of firefighters," said NCFS Fire Safety Educator Lt. Cydnie Taylor-Ridling.

She said statistically fires in the home pose one of the biggest threats to people in the community. More than 350,000 home fires occur each year in the U.S. and more than 2,500 people a year die in home fires.

Home sprinkler systems would drastically cut those statistics.

According to Taylor-Ridling, if you have a reported fire in your home, the risk of dying decreases by about 80 percent when sprinklers are present. Sprinklers also protect against significant property loss by reducing the average loss about 71 percent per fire.

"There are regretfully no Georgia codes that enforce residential sprinklers," Taylor-Ridling said, but pointed out that model safety codes now require the use of home fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes.

The systems work by responding quickly to reduce the heat, flames and smoke from a fire, giving families valuable time to get to safety. In most cases, about 85 percent of the time, only one sprinkler goes into operation. Each individual sprinkler is designed and calibrated to go off when it senses a significant heat change. Only the sprinkler closest to the fire will activate, spraying water directly on the fire.

For more information on home sprinkler systems, go to http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org.

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Home sprinkler systems reduce deaths, property loss due to fire

Firefighters are crediting a residential sprinkler system for putting out a two-alarm fire that displaced tenants in three apartments west of Happy Valley late Wednesday.

Brandon Paxton, Clackamas Fire District 1 spokesman, said the sprinklers in the Town Center Station Apartments, 8719 S.E. Monterey Ave., worked so well that the fire already was out when firefighters arrived after receiving a 10:22 p.m. 9-1-1 call. Crews immediately evacuated nearby apartments and then performed salvage and overhaul to reduce damage to the building's contents while removing dangerous smoke and gases from the building.

No injuries were reported.

Paxton said the fire was contained to one apartment, but easily could have spread to other units if the sprinkler system hadn't controlled it.

He said cause of the blaze will go into the books as "accidental." He said investigators determined that one resident accidentally bumped into the knobs of a kitchen range, which turned it on and lit combustibles left on the stove top.

"The lesson here is not to leave any combustible materials on your stove," Paxton said.

A damage estimate is not yet available.

The Oregon Red Cross is providing temporary shelter the residents displaced by the fire. A disaster action team is providing immediate emergency assistance for food, as well as comfort kits and information on disaster health and disaster mental health services.

-- Rick Bella

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Firefighters credit sprinkler system for snuffing Happy Valley-area apartment fire

By JEFF WOLFE jwolfe@delcotimes.com @delcoreporter

CHESTER HEIGHTS MaryAnne Mitchell knew something wasnt right.

She decided to lie down at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday and was just starting to relax when she thought she heard water running. She asked her husband Jack if it was raining outside, but he replied from another room that it was sunny.

But a few moments later it was raining ... inside.

Mitchell told her husband to get out of their condominium at The Hollow at Fox Valley because she feared the noise she heard in the wall was fire. But there no fire, just water. Lots of it.

Then the sprinkler system went off, MaryAnne Mitchell said. It came through everything.

The Mitchells live on the first floor and the two condominiums above them are unoccupied. It is believed that due to the cold temperatures and lack of heat, that a pipe burst causing the water to run down. However, the sprinkler system only went off in the Mitchells dwelling.

It was like it was raining in here, MaryAnne Mitchell said.

MaryAnne Mitchell said the residents had received a notice during last weeks extreme cold stretch to keep their heat high enough so the pipes in the utility closet would not freeze. Since no one is living in the residences above them, its likely no one received notices for those two condominiums.

Since the sprinkler system was tripped, the fire company was required to investigate. Along with the sprinklers getting everything wet, the firefighters had to put a hole in the ceiling to allow more standing water to be released.

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Sprinkler system leaves Chester Heights home all wet

FARGO A sprinkler system is getting credit for putting out a fire early today before it could cause significant damage to a Fargo business that makes building materials.

Firefighters responded at 12:04 a.m. to the Lavelle Co. at 3101 4th Ave. S. for a report of a commercial fire alarm and sprinkler flow switch activation.

When crews arrived, they found that the sprinkler system had extinguished a fire in a room used for staining and spray-finishing wood products, Assistant Fire Chief Gary Lorenz stated in a news release.

The fire involved a work bench with tools and staining supplies on it.

The fire caused no structural damage to the building, and there was only minor smoke and water damage estimated at $1,000. No one was in the building at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but one possible cause is spontaneous combustion of oily rags that were discarded in a metal container next to the portable work station, Lorenz stated.

The Fargo Fire Department encourages all businesses that have sprinkler systems to make sure they are professionally inspected and functioning properly, the release stated.

Tags: news,updates,fire

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Sprinkler system douses fire at Fargo business

The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), the longest-tenured fire sprinkler advocacy organization in the U.S., reminds homeowners and building owners that fire sprinkler systems are the only proactive form of fire protection, mitigating the risk to individuals affected by fire, including both occupants of the home or building and responding firefighters. Proper maintenance is required to ensure that this life saving system performs when a fire strikes. With temperatures plummeting over the last few days it is critical to protect fire sprinkler system piping from freezing.

Patterson, N.Y. (PRWEB) January 27, 2013

Water leaks caused by freezing and bursting pipes can damage buildings and contents and interrupt your business. NFSA recommends an effective freeze-up prevention program that includes the following elements:

1. Conducting a physical inspection of the facility, looking for freeze-up hazards.

2. Inspection, and maintenance of the fire sprinkler system including:

3. Any freeze prevention program should also include annual surveys of buildings and equipment to find insulation and heat tracing deficiencies and to check for unwanted outside air; look for vents and openings in windows, walls, roofs, or floors.

4. Low point drains (drum drips) on dry-pipe sprinkler systems should be emptied to remove water that may be present from condensation or accidental trips.

5. All buildings should provide adequate heat (40F) for dry-pipe valve rooms, pump rooms, and water tanks.

6. Building owners should appoint individuals to monitor weather reports. Establish guidelines to alert management and maintenance personnel and again, maintain indoor temperatures at a minimum of 40F.

7. It is important to provide adequate heating throughout areas susceptible to freezing, such as in stairwells, above dropped ceilings, and attic spaces.

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As Temperatures Plummet, NFSA Provides Tips to Protect Fire Sprinkler Systems from Freezing

Water Less Save More - Turn your sprinkler system off during the fall and winter months
Commercial we produced for Theaters in the Houston, The Woodlands, and Kingwood areas.

By: texasnetwork

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Water Less Save More - Turn your sprinkler system off during the fall and winter months - Video

Michael Rugh sees plenty of misinformation and misunderstanding when it comes the topic of home fire sprinklers.

And he hopes that a new push for education could be what is needed to get the state to finally pass legislation requiring sprinklers in new homes.

Rugh, the assistant fire chief for Union Fire Company in Carlisle and the fire marshal for the state police, announced Wednesday that the Carlisle Volunteer Firefighters received a $1,000 stipend to educate the public on home sprinkler systems via public service announcements.

Those PSAs will run in various media outlets, as well as one specifically targeted area movie theaters.

The national nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition is funding these stipends to firefighting organizations across the country and one big reason why its doing it is to dispel myths perpetrated in Hollywood movies about sprinklers.

According to Rugh, unlike what viewers see on television and in movies, a fire in one room will not trigger the sprinkler system in every part of the house or business and only the high temperature of a fire not cigar smoke or burnt toast will set off the system.

All theyre doing is starting to educate the public, Rugh said of PSAs.

Some of the advertisements include a 30-second comical spoof showing a burglar attempting to set off the sprinkler system from another room during a dance party, and succeeding in setting off only the sprinkler above him.

PSA

For Rugh, a telling PSA compares the effects of a fire at a home without a sprinkler system and a home with a sprinkler system. The former has a charred room and the other only had fire damage to the curtains before the sprinkler system doused the fire.

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Firefighters get word out about home sprinkler systems

During a special called meeting Jan. 2, the Daleville City Board of Education approved a bid for a new fire sprinkler system at Windham Elementary School.

After a lengthy discussion, board members approved a bid from Hughes Construction Services, LLC, of Ozark, in a 4-1 vote.

Board member Debra Latremore abstained from voting after expressing concerns with the estimated cost for the repairs.

Hughes Construction Services will provide upgrades for a cost of $274,000, which does not include the engineers fee.

Daleville City Board of Education Chief Financial Officer Lynn McWilliams told the board the engineers fee can range anywhere from six to 10 percent of the total cost.

Hughes Construction Services also performed a roofing repair on the school last year.

The new fire sprinkler system will include a wet pipe system instead of a dry pipe system, and a heating system in the attic to keep the pipes from freezing during the cold months.

In other business, the board approved a revision to the Title I Plan or the continuous improvement plan.

The plan will now include end-of-the-course testing and the states monitoring of the test.

The board also discussed mandatory Alabama Association of School Board training requirements.

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Daleville BOE approves bid for new fire sprinkler system

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26211 Bright Dawn Ct, Katy, TX 77494 - Video