Fire Sprinkler Fails to Activate

A fire sprinkler considered unreliable by federal safety regulators failed to activate in an Arizona apartment blaze that caused $250,000 in damage and minor burns to one woman. The fire occurred late Tuesday in a 16-unit apartment building in Scottsdale. The woman suffered first-degree burns to her hands and nose and singed her hair trying to put out the fire with a towel, Fire Department spokesman Colin Williams said. The woman was treated at the scene. In March, the Consumer Product Safety Commission asked a judge to order a national recall of the 10 million Omegas used throughout the country. Central Sprinkler Co., the nation’s second-largest manufacturer of fire sprinklers, has challenged the recall, saying sprinkler heads are not consumer products and the CPSC has no authority in the case.