Candles are a regular culprit for house and building fires.
...the school building managers also did their job in making sure the building was equipped with proper fire safety equipment to slow the spread of the fire.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 08, 2015
A May fire that broke out in a USC dorm room was said to be caused by several unattended candles that set a mattress ablaze. Thankfully, according to an NBC Los Angeles report published on May 11th, no one was hurt in the fire and, by the time that firefighters were able to put it out, the blaze had caused a mere $2500 worth of damage. Yet, it is important to note that this limited scope was no miracle. According to fire officials, the fire was successfully contained by fire sprinklers until approximately 20 firefighters arrived on the scene to put it out completely. According to George Saadian, the head engineer at Fire Protection Group Inc., this is as positive a story as it gets when a fire breaks out, and “is evidence of how fires can be successfully contained and extinguished when everyone does their part. While the firefighters were able to reach the site of the fire in time to extinguish it, the school building managers also did their job in making sure the building was equipped with proper fire safety equipment to slow the spread of the fire.” The equipment that proved crucial in preventing injury and damage in the USC fire includes:
- Fire Alarms – While the fire never ended up spreading beyond the room in which it began, fire alarms were crucial in evacuating all other residents in the building to safety in case it had. Because the dorm is a multi-floor building with numerous occupants, word of mouth is a completely insufficient way to rely on alerting occupants to a fire, and a working fire alarm system is needed. It is also important for buildings and businesses to schedule regular maintenance inspections so that all of their systems work as well as the dorm system did in the event of a fire.
- Sprinkler Systems – In this case, the sprinkler systems proved absolutely vital in stopping the fire from spreading. While it is unclear whether or not the fire fighters could have successfully put out the blaze before it took the entire building, what is certain is that the damage would have likely been much more costly without the sprinklers. Any business or building that does not have a fire sprinkler system currently installed should immediately contact Fire Protection Group to inquire about a custom system.
- Stand Pipes – Stand pipes, perhaps the least visible element of a fire protection system, are tasked with carrying pressurized water up to higher floors to make sure that firefighters have access to the water that they need to extinguish a flame, no matter what floor the fire is on. This is another element of the system that must be tested regularly to ensure that the firefighters have access to the water that they count on when they get up to the higher levels of a building.
About Fire Protection Group
Fire Protection Group Inc. is a respected fire protection firm that can install and inspect all of these systems for businesses in the Los Angeles area. George Saadian and the rest of the firm’s fire safety team boast a wealth of experience designing custom plans for all types of buildings – commercial, institutional, and residential. For more information, FPG, Inc. can be reached at 888-251-3488 or online at http://www.firesprinkler.com.