Re: Automatic fire sprinklers

[Tom Horne <hornetd@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Jan 10, 5:49=A0pm, "k...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
<k...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:41:32 -0800 (PST), Evan <evan.news.re...@earthlink=
.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >On Jan 10, 1:10=A0pm, "k...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
> ><k...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:23:30 -0800 (PST), jamesgangnc <jamesgan...@gma=
il.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> >> >On Jan 10, 8:25=A0am, "Techvoid" <n...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> >> "Dean Hoffman" <dh0496@in#&ebr^as^#ka.com> wrote in message
>
> >> >>news:igeu4d$b7k$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> >> >> > =A0are now required in new Pennsylvania homes:
> >> >> >http://tinyurl.com/323syvr
>
> >> >> good idea?
>
> >> >It's not as expensive as it used to be. =A0There is a cpvc pipe that =
can
> >> >be used for sprinklers. =A0I don't think it's actually different, I
> >> >think they just made it orange. =A0But I'm not sure. =A0I got 8 sprin=
kler
> >> >heads to put in the garage I'm building out at our lake house. =A0Pic=
ked
> >> >them up on ebay for about $5 apiece. =A0Idea came to me after some of
> >> >our friends almost burned down their house with a garage fire.
> >> >Happened while they were at home and they didn't know it until the
> >> >neighbor called them. =A0By then flames were rolling up the outside
> >> >wall. =A0$100k+ in damages and it barely got out of the garage into t=
he
> >> >living space above before the fire dept put it out.
>
> >> >I think you could do a whole house for a couple hundred in materials.
> >> >Not sure how much additional plumber labor but I would think you coul=
d
> >> >keep it under a grand total. =A0My grandparents house in missisppi bu=
ilt
> >> >in the 1920's had sprinklers located in on the ceiling in front of
> >> >each fireplace hearth. =A0Since there was a fireplace in every room i=
t
> >> >amounted to a whole house sprinkler system.
>
> >> Sounds like just more pipes to burst, particularly in a second home. =
=A0More
> >> nannyism for the government. =A0
>
> >LOL... =A0Sounds like you think you are in an area where public safety
> >budgets have not been cut yet... =A0It is either raise tax rates even
> >more
> >or start cutting even on the essential services like police and
> >fire...
>
> "Facts" stated not in evidence and completely irrelevant.
>
> >If it takes more than 5 minutes for the fire department to respond to
> >your structure after calling 911, then a properly designed sprinkler
> >system will save lives as well as prevent serious damage to your
> >building...
>
> If you're not OUT OF THE HOUSE by the time the fire department can get th=
ere,
> you're dead. =A0A sprinkler system will also cause far more damage, overa=
ll.
>
> >Now realize that you might not become aware of a fire in your home
> >if it is on another floor or in an isolated room like a garage or
> >basement
> >until it flashes over...
>
> That's why we have smoke alarms.
>
> >If you are *just* calling the fire
> >department at
> >that point you will have a $100k loss to deal with...
>
> Are you stupid? =A0Do you know how much damage a sprinkler going off will=
 cause?
> Most of the damage in a fire, that's put out by a FD is caused by water. =
=A0If
> they have to use more than 50gal of water the house is usually a write-of=
f.
>
> >If you are concerned about the water freezing in your sprinkler system
> >there are dry sprinkler systems which keep the water out of the piping
> >until a head pops and the air pressure is released opening the wet
> >valve and allowing water to flow to the sprinkler heads...
>
> ...and nothing ever goes wrong. =A0...goes wrong. =A0...goes wrong.
>
> >Such systems are installed everywhere in commercial buildings where
> >there is a large enough overhang or covered exterior area close to the
> >building which requires protection because of its use or its location
> >on
> >an egress path which must be protected...
>
> Commercial buildings <> single family residences. =A0

You obviously know nothing about firefighting or automatic
sprinklers.  You offer no basis for your statements, which over forty
years of fire service experience tells me are completely untrue, but
you expect your readers to except them as gospel.  Just how many times
have you crawled down a long snotty hallway looking for other peoples
children at 0dark30 in the morning?  How much water does a modern
interior attack line flow per minute?  How many seconds of flow does
it take to knock a room and contents that has flashed over?  Do you
have the faintest idea?

I have been on fire attacks were the fire flow exceeded twenty
thousand gallons a minute and were the loss was limited to less than
forty percent of the buildings value in spite of the fact that the de-
watering operation took hours.  I have been on many house fires were
the fire flow exceeded five hundred gallons a minute and the loss was
limited to less than a quarter of the buildings value.  The amount of
loss to the building of origin is immaterial though as long as the
fire is held to that structure and does not  spread to other
properties the state has done it's job.
--
Tom Horne