Fire Stations Burning

[gefd901]

There is not a month that goes by that I don't see stories on firehouse.com about fire stations burning. Can anyone direct me to a source of information with statistics on fire stations that have burned. I have searched Firehouse, IAFC, NFPA etc and have only come up with a few individual cases and not anything comprehensive. I am trying to make a case for applying for a Fire grant for retrofitting the station with sprinklers (which I think has about a 40% chance) versus an application for a pumper (which has maybe a 3% chance).

[SIGNAL99COM]

Let me tell ya a little story. The Board of Fire Commissioners added a 1.2 million dollar addition to our station back in 1997. They were going to sprinkler the new addition and the area that was remodled however when they heard that it would cost $40,000 to do it, they said forget it, we don't need it.

When everything was complete and the insurance company sent their adjuster to take a look at the addition, he couldn't believe that a fire department would opt not to get a sprinkler system put in. He asked the commissioners why they didn't include it and they told him that it would have cost $40,000.

With a **** eating grin on his face, the adjuster explained that we would have saved $4,000 a year on building insurance if we did put one in and within 10 years we would have paid it off!

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

When you look at the facts surrounding these fires, the fact that they were not equipped with a full sprinkler system is a constant. But what is even more glaring is that they were never equipped (for the most part) with a fire detection system, either. It seems that the fire service runs a double standard...one for other buildings and one for us.

When you consider that the fire house is not only a government building, which is a significant risk, and also houses expensive assets (and sometimes places of public assembly), the need for a fire protection system is obvious. But when you consider that it many cases it houses the entire emergency response fleet for a municipality, it is inconceivable that:

1. The governing body is that short-sighted (good example 99), but

2. The FD members were not screaming at the top of their lungs and refusing to accept anything less.

Good luck 901.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Originally posted by SIGNAL99COM
Let me tell ya a little story. The Board of Fire Commissioners added a 1.2 million dollar addition to our station back in 1997. They were going to sprinkler the new addition and the area that was remodled however when they heard that it would cost $40,000 to do it, they said forget it, we don't need it.

When everything was complete and the insurance company sent their adjuster to take a look at the addition, he couldn't believe that a fire department would opt not to get a sprinkler system put in. He asked the commissioners why they didn't include it and they told him that it would have cost $40,000.

With a **** eating grin on his face, the adjuster explained that we would have saved $4,000 a year on building insurance if we did put one in and within 10 years we would have paid it off!

Typical politicians....penny wise, dollar foolish!

[gefd901]

Good luck 901.

Thanks for the good wishes George. I was hoping you might be the one to steer me in the direction of what I was looking for.
Can anyone direct me to a source of information with statistics on fire stations that have burned?

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Originally posted by gefd901

Thanks for the good wishes George. I was hoping you might be the one to steer me in the direction of what I was looking for.
Can anyone direct me to a source of information with statistics on fire stations that have burned?

I forgot to type that part.

I do not know of any single source for this info. But I do know two places where you might be able to pull articles and such.

1. Go to the website for the Learning Resource Center at the NFA. The link is http://www.lrc.fema.gov/. Search for the subject you are looking for. When you find sources, call them (they are great people) and they will either arrange an inter-library loan through your public library or, in a limited sense, photocopy and send you the articles.

2. Search the Fire Research Information Service at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Building Fire Research Laboratory. The link is http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/fris/. This section has a huge database of publications by NIST, as well as virtually every other article ever written by man with the word "fire" in it. This database may only provide the citation for the article or paper, it may not be able to give you the full text. You may have to work through the publisher or a college library to get the text. But if you find it on FRIS, call the LRC to find out if they have it.

Hope this helps.