COMMENTARY : It’s Time We Got Serious About Automatic Fire Sprinklers

If there is anything we are good at in our society it is collecting statistics, and putting price tags on things. We can tell you how many times some left-handed outfielder has hit a home run off a right-handed pitcher. We can tell you the gate receipts the day some sports record was broken. But when do statistics become people, and when do dollars really measure the ultimate value of something?

To be more specific, the statistics I have in mind are fire statistics. Homes burn, people die and we collect the numbers and add up the losses. The tallies may mean very little to you, unless they involve someone you love--your husband, wife, child or parent.

Recently, we have seen a couple of situations that illustrate this point. The loss of a life in a fire is not just a cold hard fact, it is a shocking, jarring, traumatizing experience that vastly exceeds any movie and television versions of grief. I know very well, for as a fire chief, I’ve been witness to the anguish and torment of the survivor, the anger and frustration of the attempted rescuers and the shock and embarrassment of the onlooker.

I’ve seen the pain and the tears in the eyes of firefighters who have had to go in and complete the task of locating, identifying and retrieving fire victims. The victims aren’t just statistics then; they are memories that are burned in the human experience of those touched by the event.

The tragedy is that many of these statistics need not occur. We have a technology today that can eliminate many of these scenes. That technology is the automatic fire sprinkler.

Sprinklers can be installed in new construction or retrofitted into older ones. But in many cases they have not been. Why? Because they are alleged to be too expensive. As a firefighter, I can tell you that in this case, dollars don’t make sense. I can prove it by drawing a simple contrast between the outcomes of two fires.

In one blaze on May 11 here in Orange County, a 4-year-old boy paid the ultimate price for being in an uncontrolled fire. In contrast, in Marietta, Ga., an 18-month-girl made the front page of the local newspaper with a headline about how a sprinkler saved her life. One child fought for survival and lost; the other survived because a system was there when nothing else could have helped.

Both children lived in an apartment building. Both families suffered fear, anxiety and a threat to their families’ future. One family has the agony and disappointment of a lost generation. The other has a survival experience to critique, and be thankful for the rest of their lives.

So, who really pays for fire protection: the person who installs it, or the person that suffers because it is not there?

The installation of automatic fire control systems is the single most important investment you can make for the future of your family. If you were given a choice of living in a building that has sprinklers and one without, move into the one with sprinklers and save on something else.

In the last few weeks since the Bliss Lane fire in Tustin in which young Jimmy de la Riva died, there have been several letters to the editor calling for the retrofitting of apartment complexes to protect the occupants. The issue is going to stir up a lot of debate among those with financial interests or public policy responsibilities. But I think you, the consumer, the renter, the occupant of homes or apartments ought to be stirred up, too. After all, it’s not just some property that is at risk. It is you, and your most prized possession--your family.

Of course, there will be a heavy discussion about cost. That’s expected. And, yes, it does cost to put sprinklers in. And although that is a complicated issue, it does involve economic advantages and approaches that can be used to offset the cost.

Most important is that it can be done. Why hasn’t it been? When should we get started? How many more statistics do we need to justify a common-sense approach to saving lives?

Sprinklers fight fire where it counts-- the place where the fire starts! Sprinklers fight fire when it counts the most-- within seconds after it erupts and threatens lives and property. And, sprinklers fight fire In the way it is fought best-- by pouring water on it when it’s still small.

Let’s start securing a safe living environment for our families. Put fire protection directly into our homes by installing sprinklers in new construction and retrofitting older apartment houses.