New CT Home on Site of Fatal Fire Includes Sprinkler System

Dec. 5, 2017
The first Plainfield home to have sprinklers is built on the site where an 8-year-old perished in a 2016 fire.

PLAINFIELD — A home being rebuilt at the site of a Plainfield fatal fire will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art fire suppression system that town officials said is the first of its kind to be added to a residence in town.

As part of the rebuild of the 10 Winsor Ave. home by Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut, Plainville-based K&M Fire Protection Services, Inc donated a residential sprinkler system designed to inundate sections of a home with hundreds of gallons of water in the event of a fire.

"In the basement is a 450-gallon water tank with a pump and check valves that lead to pipes spread through the home," Plainfield Fire Marshal Paul Yellen said. "The pipes end at a series of sprinkler heads, just like the ones you see in commercial buildings."

If a fire breaks out, a glass vial inside the heads break when the surrounding temperature reaches a threshold point, releasing a seal and allowing water to pour down.

"But only the (heads) that reach that temperature are activated, so they all don't go off at the same time," Yellen said. "The amount of water available is the equivalent of a standard fire truck — not a tanker — that typically holds 500 gallons. It's like having a fire truck in your basement."

Crews in November began rebuilding on the property formerly home to a residence destroyed by a September 2016 fire that claimed the life of 8-year-old Isabella Patterson. Patterson's mother, Jeanette Lawyea and another child were able to escape the blaze with help from Plainfield police officers.

The fire was deemed accidental, though no cause for the fire has been publically released. Investigators removed several appliances from the home's kitchen, where the fire was thought to have begun. The fire's origin is formally listed as "undetermined."

The project is estimated to cost $130,000, including $4,400 for the dismantling. Terri O'Rourke, chief executive officer and executive director for the agency, said Lawyea will move into the new home once construction is complete.

Killingly Fire Marshal Randy Burchard said, besides renovated group homes, he's unaware of any residential sprinkler systems being installed in town.

"They are nice systems and are designed to not do as much water damage to home," he said. "The whole design is based on the idea of controlling, not necessarily stopping a full fire. It's to allow residents time to get to safety and conserve as much of the property as possible until firefighters get to the scene."

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©2017 Norwich Bulletin, Conn.

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