Fire safety living in the country

[Paddy]

As we were building our house I thought of the time it might take to have the fire department out. We live at the end of a one mile private road on the outskirts of town. I stay in hotels often and was alway seeing the sprinkler systems. I thought it sure would be good to have one.

My first attemp at it was talking with the Korson(sp) fire group, very pricey. A plumber neighboor said there are dig differences in a comercial system vs. a home system. A comercial system is designed to pump water in all the heads, at the same time. A home system is really just meant to have a few fuction at one time. We pexed in 3/4" lines from the main city water line. Used Tee's with brass shower head 90's. We have nearly 40 sprinkler heads installed, as you can imagine there would be to much presure loss if half of them were open. The main purpose is to contain a local fire, buy you time to get out and time for the fire dept to get there.

The sprinkler heads cost less than you might think, $6-7 with cover rings. Pex tubing is cheap and easy to run. I have never had a crimp leak

Our house is all concrete and steel except some partition walls, so I wasn't to worried about the house burning to far but it's the smoke that with kill. As yes, we have smoke alarm system too.

So if any one is building now, I highly reccomend installing a home sprinkler system. Mine cost me less than a $1000 including labor of having a licenced plumber help run pipe.

Patrick T

 

[JD435Bill]

Sounds good. A good system especially when you are not home.

But when at home, I always wanted to put in a hose system. If the house is big enough, especially if you are building new, my idea would be to have a couple of "Fire Closets". Have about a garden hose size hose wound up on a reel with a quick turn valve easy to get at. Have one on every floor and long enough to reach every room. Of course, you need to know when to draw the line and leave if the fire is a losing battle.

Also if your area is fortune enough to have public Fire Hydrants, it's less of a worry, but deep in the country where Fire Trucks rely on their Tanks, I've always like the idea of my swimming pool. Instead of relaying water from the nearest lake, pond, etc, they would have multi-thousand gallons of water readily available.

Also don't forget Fire Extinguishers at home. They can be handy at home just as much as in your vehicle.

Bill

 

[Jim Shooz]

I think I have to correct your spelling. Around here 'swimming pool' is spelt 'fire pond'. And it's tax deductible.

 

[JD435Bill]

When I first put in my pool, I checked with my Insurance Co to see if I could get an extra discount, but it was a no-go. Glad to hear you can at least get a tax break.

 

[Jim Shooz]

Some years ago I was working for a Govt dept which had a largish installation which had a large 'fire pond' out the back. There was some public interest in this place so there was a PR area with display boards. They put a request in for Capital Expenditure for a '3 metre horizontal viewing platform' It was supported by elaborate specifications and full justification. Because it was an engineering installation the bean counters didn't read the Specs too thoroughly and it got the approval.

When I saw it it was exactly as described. A horizontal platform, 3 metres (yards) from the ground. But only secured at one end and with steps leading up to that end. The other end stuck out over the 'fire pond'.

The locals were quite pleased they had put one across those HOB (Head Office Ba**trds) and got the guvmint to provide them with their high diving board.

 

[Pete Judd]

The local fire dept has written permission to pull water out of our pond, but it does not give us a break in the ins rates. The nearest fire plug is a couple of miles away. If building a new house would be pretty cheap to add the sprinkler system to it, but retro into a older house is to many bucks.

 

[byronlj]

Not sure about your climate. Do you have water pipes in the attic? If so, what precautions did you take to keep them from freezing?
Dave

 

[Ken45101]

Sprinkler systems are mostly to save the building, not to save lives because the smoke will disorient you or kill you before it gets hot enough to trip the sprinkler heads. At least that's what I was told by a knowledgeable fire chief.

Smoke detectors are more effective in saving lives.

As for water freezing in the lines, there are "dry sprinkler" systems where pressurized air is used to keep water out of the lines until a sprinkler head opens.

I agree that a connected garden hose is a great idea as long as you know what you are doing and know when to get out of the house. Many people have died from the smoke trying to stop a fire instead of getting out. For most single story houses, it's best to do any firefighting like that from outside.

Ken

 

[scaredychicken]

think I'm going to run a large pump from the creek - not so much worried about a house fire, though we are in the country there are 2 Fire Departments within 5-6 minutes, and the water bombers use the lake in the event of forsest fires.
Forest fires are more of a concern for us - 3 evacuation notices in 11 yrs of being here. fortunately, the evacuation order never followed. closest one was 3 yrs ago, 2 miles away, 4 fires within 15 miles burning simultaneously in 3 directions - the only place to retreat would have been into the lake, but the water bombers were busy there. God is good, we and those around this area were fine. the mountains got a trim though...

I tend to bring yard waste - including clippings and small tree limbs, to the local dump during free yard waste disposal, burns I save for non-windy - snow or rain days, as long as fires are permitted. gets rid of all the groundcover fuel

 

[MarkV]

Paddy, thanks for the post. I am impressed that you were able to put that much of a system in for such a reasonable price. Seems like a no brainer for new construction. I alway thought it was much more pricey.

MarkV