Annapolis, MD – The City of Annapolis with the Annapolis Fire Department, in partnership with the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), will be demonstrating the effectiveness of fire sprinklers with a live fire sprinkler demonstration at City Dock at noon on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. The public is invited.
The demonstration will be an opportunity for the City to showcase to business and property owners the need to retrofit buildings with sprinklers. In the most recent City of Annapolis budget, additional funding was provided for the City’s 2022 Sprinkler Fund. This fund provides low-interest loans (one percent per year) to help building owners pay for fire sprinkler systems and connect to the City’s water supply.
The demonstration will be held at City Dock, in the parking lot closest to Susan Campbell Park. This live fire demonstration will take place inside an NFSA trailer outfitted with two identically furnished rooms.
- On one one side of the trailer, a fire is set and in about 35 seconds (the time it would take sprinklers to turn on), the blaze is extinguished by fire sprinklers.
- On the other side of the trailer, the fire is set and the blaze is put out by Annapolis firefighters within the window of a typical Annapolis response time (about four minutes).
There are two components to a fire call response time. The first is the “turnout time.” This is how long it takes firefighters to depart the station after receiving a call. When response time is calculated, it is turnout time plus travel time. Annapolis has a superior response time of four minutes and/or initial full alarm within an eight-minute response time in 90 percent of incidents.
But, there can be factors that lead to a delay in emergency response: namely that the public has to alert the fire department to the fire -- someone has to notice the flames or hear a smoke alarm, then dial 9-1-1. In a typical fire, an overhead fire sprinkler would go off in the same time it takes a person to call for help.
“I worked with the other members of the City Council to get additional funding in the Fire Sprinkler Fund,” said Alderwoman Eleanor Tierney. “A small fire in downtown could quickly turn catastrophic for the historic district. And while we have an outstanding Fire Department and improved response time, we know that fire sprinkler systems not only save lives, it saves from more severe damage from smoke, fire and the excess water needed to douse a more involved burn.”
The sprinkler trailer demonstration uses live fire to showcase how quickly a blaze can go from easily extinguished with overhead sprinklers to full-on engulfed without them. The demonstration will be an important reminder for downtown businesses in the historic district.
In addition to the fire demonstration and talk, representatives from CNR Insurance will be on hand to discuss the financial incentives insurance companies offer by way of rate reductions for buildings with fire sprinklers.
