Fire Chiefs hope to
see law to require
sprinklers in homes
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
The International Association
of Fire Chiefs has joined forces
with the Home Fire Sprinkler
Coalition and other advocates
to push for a federal law to
require fire sprinklers in all new
homes.
Kings Mountain Fire Chief
Frank Burns said the North
Carolina Association of Fire
Chiefs and North Carolina
Firefighters Association are also
working on statewide legisla-
tion for the same cause. “The
North Carolina Building Code
Counsel will be voting on this
issue March 10 in Raleigh,” he
said. “It will save lives, not only
citizens but firefighters.”
He said that firefighters have
to treat every fire as if someone
were stuck inside and needing
rescue. “Unless we are assured
that everyone is out, we have to
take undue risk to make sure no
one is inside,” he said.
Although several municipali-
ties have adopted ordinances
requiring sprinklers in new
homes, no action has yet been
taken through the federal gov-
ernment or statewide level.
Advocates of HFSC, a non-prof-
it organization, are gaining sup-
port across the board from fire
officials, insurance agencies,
and building owner industry
"associations, to push for instal-
lation of sprinklers in certain
new homes being built in 2009.
Chief Burns said NCAFC is
focusing on just newer homes
being installed with automatic
sprinkler systems, “because it is
cheaper to install when the-
building is being built.”
According to HFSC’s website
(homefiresprinkler.org),
“Nationally, on average, home
fire sprinkler systems add 1% to
1.5% of the total building cost in
new construction.”
“A sprinkler is like having a
firefighter with a charged hose
line in every room of your
home 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. If you have small
children or older adults, you
need a sprinkler system,” Burns
said. “Sprinklers are good for
all buildings because they cost
less than some people spend on
appliances or entertainment
centers. It just make good
sense.” ret als .
According to HFSC’s website
(homefiresprinkler.org):
HM “Fire sprinklers have no mov-
ing parts and act simply as a
water plug that releases at a
particular temperature.”
BM “Home fire sprinklers can
contain and may even extin-
guish a fire in less time than it
would take the fire department
to arrive on the scene.”
BH “Fire sprinklers save lives,
reduce property loss and can
even help cut homeowner
insurance premiums.”
B “Installing both smoke
alarms and a fire sprinkler sys-
tem reduces the risk of death in
a home fire by 82%, relative to
having neither.”
BH “Only the sprinkler closest to
the fire will activate, spraying
water directly on the fire.
Ninety percent of fires are con-
tained by the operation of just
one sprinkler.”
HB “Home fire sprinklers use
only a fraction of the water
used by fire department hoses
(which, on average, use more
than 8 1/2 times the water that
sprinklers do to contain a fire).”
BM “According to the Scottsdale
Report, a 15-year study of fire
sprinkler effectiveness, a fire
sprinkler uses, on average, 341
gallons of water to control a
fire. Firefighters, on average,
use 2,935. Reduced water dam-
age is a major source of savings
for homeowners.”
Over the past 12 years,
around 250 Habitat for
Humanity homes across: NC
have been built with an auto- -
matic fire sprinkler system.
According to the National
Fire Protection Agency, fires kill
more people annually in the
United States than all natural
disasters combined, more than
4,000 people every year.
Eighty percent of those deaths
happen at home.
A current NC House Bill 260
would require automatic sprin-
kler systems in residential
buildings of more than two sto-
ries and containing more than
16 dwelling units built on or
after the effective date of the
rule or amendment. It has not °
yet been passed or signed into
law. For more information on
home fire sprinklers, call 1-888-
635-7222 or visit Dompita
kler.org Ar
The Kings Mountain Herald
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
The Kings Mountain Fire
Department hosted a free car
seat safety check at station two
on Shelby Road Thursday after-
noon.
Safe Kids of Cleveland
County (SKCC) gave the
checks. Several new car seats
were on-hand at the station in
case SKCC ran across any seats
that needed to be replaced.
Child Passenger Safety
Technician Judy Hawkins, with
SKCC, said that they look for
seats that are broken, too old
(over six years old), or have
been in a crash. Those seats,
which pose a safety risk, are
often replaced by the new seats
they have on-hand.
During every check, techni-
cians look to make sure that
seats and children are secured
properly, that drivers are aware
of how to properly secure child
passengers and that serial num-
bers and manufacturing infor-
mation on seats are not flagged
by recall lists. In the case that
seats have been recalled, techni-
cians are able to tell drivers
what they need to do to make
sure their seats are secure in the
future.
“We let parents know of any
issues and show them how to
install seats properly,” Watkins
said.
Also on hand at Thursday’s
safety check was Tom Crider, of
Transit Authority of Cleveland
County, Child Passenger Safety
Technicians Joan Mabry and Jeff
Oliver, and Intern Heather
Roka, a student of Gardner-
Webb University, majoring in
Health and Wellness.
Crider mentioned how seat
belts should not be directly
underneath a passenger’s neck,
but should instead crosscut a
person’s chest. If worn properly
in an accident, he said, “most
people are going to survive
even front end collisions.”
Other safety tips include:
B Children should always ride
in the back seat and never in
front of an air bag.
EB Children under age one and
less than 40 pounds should
always ride in a car seat made
for infants of the appropriate
size and age.
BW Children weighing between
0-40 pounds should always sit
in a car seat facing the back of
the car.
BW Children weighing between
0-40 pounds should have straps
that are snug and others can’t
a
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Child Passenger Safety Technician Judy Hawkins takes note
of mother Amy Blalock, now safely securing her 18-month-old
daughter Lillian Blalock into her car seat as Sarah Blalock, 11,
looks on.
pinch the buckled strap.
BM Children weighing between
0-40 pounds should have a car
seat buckled tightly in the car,
where it doesn’t move more
than an inch when pulled.
HM Children under four feet, nine
inches tall, weighing more than
40 pounds should always ride
in a booster seat, using a seat
belt with lap and shoulder
straps.
HB Lap belts should sit low on
hips and not stomach.
HB Shoulder belts should be on
shoulder, not on neck, under
arm or behind back.
MW Seat belts should be snug, flat
and comfortable on child.
B Children over four feet, nine
inches tall, weighing over 80
pounds should always use a
seat belt with lap and shoulder
straps.
HB Children over four feet, nine
inches tall, weighing over 80
pounds should have backs
firmly against the seat back,
knees bending at the front edge
of the seat and can comfortably
sit this way for the entire ride.
The Kings Mountain Police
Department offers free safety
car seat checks by appointment.
To schedule a check, call 704-
734-0444.
ARNOLD'S
Th ally
Safe Jor
Diamond
Earrings
While supplies last
STE a I PI, fb = ie