An open letter to our public guardians:

This was on Butch weedon's internet page today. (1-21-09) I want to pass this on to you, because even though I am no longer in fire service, I am still vitally interested in the safety and well being of not only our firefighters, but also the general public.

I would like to urge our County and City leaders, our Fire Chiefs, our Mayor, our County Commissioners, our City Councilmen, to band together, work together to insure that every public building have adequate fire sprinklers, and make it mandatory. All new public buildings need to have adequate sprinklers, and all existing public buildings be retro fit.

I can hear the objections now. "Oh, no, we could never do that, It would be too expensive." My answer to that is, How much does it cost to bury a child? or two? How much is the ensuing lawsuit(s) going to cost? How expensive are tears?

or do you care?

Lee Akers


Two bodies discovered in burned SeaTac building

http://seattletimes.nwsou...e21m0.html

By Sara Jean Green



Fire investigators discovered two bodies Tuesday morning while searching
for the cause of a Saturday night blaze at the Emerald Place by the Lake
apartments in SeaTac. The search for the fire's cause and origin "ground
to a halt when the bodies were found," said King County sheriff's Sgt.
John Urquhart. Fire investigators retreated from the scene as sheriff's
officials waited for a search warrant to be issued. "It could be a crime
scene for all we know, so we back out and get a search warrant to cover
all our bases," Urquhart said from the parking lot of the Silver Dollar
Casino, which faces the rear of the apartment complex east of
International Boulevard. "Nothing's been ruled out, but there's no
obvious indication it was anything other than an accident." The fire was
so hot that even after it was out it was too dangerous for investigators
to enter the scorched building until Tuesday morning, said Urquhart.
Firefighters used boards to shore up some of the damaged floors and
anticipated the need for more shoring up of the building before it was
safe for investigators to enter some units. Investigators were surprised
to find the two victims because "the first reports we had were that
nobody was missing and everybody was accounted for," Urquhart said. "But
as the holiday weekend went on, we did receive a report that someone
hadn't been seen since the fire." He couldn't immediately provide
details about who filed the report or say whether one or two people had
been reported missing. Two women suffered life-threatening injuries
after leaping off their balconies to escape the flames that broke out at
6:55 p.m. at the 48-unit complex in the 3000 block of South 192nd
Street, a spokesman for King County Fire District 20 said. Seven other
people were hospitalized for minor injuries and about 100 people were
displaced from their homes. Because it was an older building, sprinklers
were not required, but residents reported that smoke alarms were
working.

Lee said, "I would like to urge our County and City leaders, our Fire Chiefs, our Mayor, our County Commissioners, our City Councilmen, to band together, work together to insure that every public building have adequate fire sprinklers, and make it mandatory. All new public buildings need to have adequate sprinklers, and all existing public buildings be retro fit."

While I agree that a life is a terrible loss, I have to disagree with the implied conclusion that sprinklers should be mandated for ALL public buildings.

In fact I find it an irrational solution considering the cost and expense and the impracticality of it. I think you really need to review all the steps made in the IBC (International Building Code) that are taken to make buildings safe. There is a huge matrix of building types, size and height limitations, area and occupancy separations, building types & materials based on what's going in them, etc.

It is unfortunate that lives are lost, but are the residents of this county ready to foot the bill to install sprinklers in the Denton Field baseball stadium, or the fairgrounds stadium? The all concrete and steel ice skating rink? All the buildings at the fairgrounds? Every single building on Main Street? Every single building on Haynes Avenue? All the auto dealerships, all the feed distributors, all the veterinarians offices, all the churches, all the schools? It's a long list, and the fact is you're citing an apartment fire- that's a place where people sleep. Most people killed in fires are killed while sleeping and usually from smoke inhalation, not burning to death.

The cost of sprinkling a NEW building is currently about $2.00 per square foot IF there is an ample water supply and ample pressure available from a municipal water source. I did a building outside City limits near Billings a while back that had no city water supply; according to Code at the time, it would have taken a 30,000 gallon storage tank, a generator system, and a pump system to meet the requirements for sprinklers on that building. Instead the Code allows us to use non-combustible building materials, area separations, occupancy separations, and smoke detectors and alarms to make the building safe. It is much more cost effective and feasible than sprinkling every commercial building.

One caveat you might like- the Fire Chiefs Association, or what ever it's called, recently ganged up on the IBC Code convention and forced changes through for the next version of the IRC (International Residential Code). It seems a whole lot of fire chiefs joined the membership of the code makers and they showed up en masse to make one vote last year. They pushed a motion through that is going to require sprinkler systems for ALL residential construction beginning in 2010. ALL new houses, apartments, duplexes, condos that are in the jurisdiction of the IRC will be required by mandate to add sprinklers (this will include renovation work that is a certain percentage of the homes value, too).

I think it's stupid unless there is municipal water available, but it will make homes safer in that case.

Lee, keep in mind if you sprinkle everything we really won't need so many fireman around anymore. They'll be kind of obsolete, except for automobile and brush fires. Perhaps they could start running the soup kitchens like they do in France!

Isn't there already a code that requires new public buildings to have sprinkler systems?

Bob,

No. Not all public or commercial buildings are required to have them. Nor do they all need them. Why on earth would you need sprinklers in a building made of non-combustible materails that is intended to store empty beer bottles, or bricks, or boxes of nails, etc. Not everything put into a building is hazardous or flamable- there is a corelation between what the building is used for, how many people are going to be in it, what it is made of, where it is in relation to other buildings and property lines, etc. that determines whether or not sprinklers are required.

Consider this as well, does it make sense to sprinkle a building that's out in the middle of nowhere that has one or two people working in it, that has plenty of exits, that is not built of combustible materials? Not really. Now if it's a bomb factory or someplace they're mnaking fire works, MAYBE. A more affordable solution is to limit the amount of hazardous materials and to limit the area to a controlable size in the event of a fire or explosion- there are also things like vertical smoke venting, alarm systems, explosion pressure relief vents, fire resistant doors and openings, roll down fire shutters and doors, UL tested and rated finishes that dictate how much smoke can begenerated and how much the flame will spread in a given time..... there is a lot being done to make buildings safe. Sprinklers are fine where they're practical, but they're not the catch all, do all answer.

Perhaps we should mandate roll bars and five point harnesses and Hahns devices for everyone riding in a car. Helmets, too. Helmets for anyone riding a two wheeled vehicle- for that matter let's just get rid of two wheeled vehicles, they're not safe are they? Let's mandate crossing guards for every cross walk in America, it will make them safer. While we're making the world safer let's ban smoking and drinking. Kids should wear hockey gear to play baseball or soccer......

How about "sprinkler systems in all public buildings where appropriate"?

BMW motorcycles are the finest motorcycles on the planet because they're engineered with intelligence and built to standards far beyond that required for normal riding. They cost more and they're worth every extra dollar. And not everyone can afford them. Should BMW lower its standards or should others raise theirs?

Is that why Chad was carting around a BMW frame in the back of his pickup? A new 5 point harness? Or perhaps its the new elitist fashion statement; Instead of a snowmobile or a four-wheeler a non-running BMW! How cool is that!

Lee, keep in mind if you sprinkle everything we really won't need so many fireman around anymore. They'll be kind of obsolete, except for automobile and brush fires.

I've never met a fireman, law enforement officer, EMT, doctor, nurse, social worker -- well, you get the idea - who wouldn't gladly give up their job and enter another profession if something could come along that would ensure everyone's safety and health. Just saying, I doubt the thought above ever entered Lee's mind, except maybe as a wonderful dream or goal.

Thank you to everyone who puts their own personal safety second to ensuring the safety of the public - usually complete strangers. That kind of sacrifice and sense of duty is truly awesome (in every sense of that very overworked word).

How did I know you'd be singing the next verse, Bruce? Grant me the analogy for the sake of argument.

I think the chorus goes something like this..."po-TA-to, po-TA-to, po-TA-to". Just repeat for 100 years.

Unfair! The battery on my Toaster is froze up, and I couldn't manage the driveway anyhow.

That said, I guess I won't have to worry about wrecking my Beemer this month...

Good thing, for I'm having a sprinkler system installed in my helmet as we speak anyway.

"BMW motorcycles are the finest motorcycles on the planet because they're engineered with intelligence and built to standards far beyond that required for normal riding. They cost more and they're worth every extra dollar. And not everyone can afford them. Should BMW lower its standards or should others raise theirs?"

Joe, I'm beginning to wonder about that based on what has to be sunk into the older ones I've got every year.

That said, I would say there is room in any market for variety and economy as well as luxury and performance. Not everyone want a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari, nor can they all afford one. The VW bug idea applies to housing and buildings as well as it does to cars.

Form follows function.

Be it cars, clothes, buildings, or some other doo dad.