Understanding the Consequences of Skipping Fire Suppression
Having smoke and fire detectors without fire suppression technology is like having video surveillance without alarm response.
A fire in 2013 that began in the attic of a Colorado sorority house burned for hours before anyone detected it, resulting in a million-dollar loss. Why? The three-story, wood-frame house had no fire detection system, and a sprinkler system covered the living spaces but not the attic.
In 2007, a college dormitory in Rhode Island suffered a total loss when a fire in an attached garage spread quickly. The eight-unit building was protected by a hardwired smoke detection system, but there were no sprinklers. The building, valued at $500,000 with contents of $150,000, was a total loss, and two civilians and three firefighters suffered non-life threatening injuries.