Friday, February 22, 2013

Sprinkler douses fire at senior home on East Side

from Madison.com


February 21, 2013 7:45 am  •  BILL NOVAK | bnovak@madison.com
A sprinkler system at an East Side assisted living facility kept fire damage to a minimum Wednesday night, with residents evacuated and no one injured, authorities reported.
The fire, reported shortly before 8 p.m. at Trinity Senior Community, 5555 Burke Road, caused an estimated $5,000 in damage, the Madison Fire Department said in a news release.
"This is an excellent example of how sprinklers can react quickly to save lives and reduce property damage," said spokeswoman Bernadette Galvez in the release.
Fire was confined to one room, which was kept in check by the sprinkler.
The facility serves those afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
"The officer in charge called for more resources to respond, based on the occupancy of the building," Galvez said.
Staff at the facility evacuated residents to another building as firefighters ventilated smoke out of the damaged building.
"Some resident rooms suffered water damage, but those residents were able to stay in other quarters," Galvez said.
The fire is under investigation.



Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/sprinkler-douses-fire-at-senior-home-on-east-side/article_0e9100e8-7c2b-11e2-9101-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz2LetDCBWc
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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Congressman Langevin to reintroduce Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act


  • from examiner.com   

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Congressman James Langevin (R.I. D-Dist.2) announced yesterday in time for today’s tenth year anniversary of the Station Night Club fire, the reintroduction of legislation that would promote the use of automatic sprinklers. It would hopefully prevent future tragedies.
The bill entitled The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act 2013 is intended to encourage small and medium sized businesses to install automatic sprinkler systems.
Tax incentives
According to the advocacy group Common Voices, the legislation would have tax incentives included in it. In their most recent update on the legislation, Common Voices reported that the legislation would make fire sprinklers a “179 property” under the current I.R.S. tax code. Currently only “certain types of equipment purchases like machines, equipment, vehicles, and computers qualify” for tax deductions, with the passage of the bill, small and medium sized businesses would potentially be able to qualify for a tax deduction.
Congressman Langevin’s renewed legislation would allow for small and medium sized businesses to “fully expense the cost of a sprinkler retrofit for structures as large as 50,000 square feet.”
The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act has been introduced into the last five Congressional terms but it has never made it out of committee.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Pressure mounts for sprinklers in Cape homes


from nbc-2.com

Posted: Feb 19, 2013 2:41 PM PSTUpdated: Feb 19, 2013 3:35 PM PST
By Steve Campion, Reporter - email
CAPE CORAL, FL -
There is a reenergized effort to put fire sprinklers in every newly built Cape Coral home.
NBC2 learned Tuesday morning supporters plan to present the ordinance to city leaders in late March. They say without the mandated move a fire can easily spread and endanger the most vulnerable like senior citizens and children.
But other construction industry experts pushed back and told us the added expense could kill the American dream of homeownership for some buyers.
Inside Vietnam veteran Jim Shannon's southeast Cape Coral home Tuesday afternoon, he worried about the "what-ifs."
"At night if there is a fire and I'm in bed, I can't get out," Shannon said.
He said the hard-to-spot and recently installed new fire sprinklers washed away his worst fears.
"It was a no-brainer," Shannon remarked. "The sprinkler system absolutely protects you. It protects everything."
Harbor Island Construction's Sam Davis helped to make the upgrade, which cost several thousand dollars, possible for Shannon.
"The need for this is to give people another 10 or 15 minutes to get out of a fire," Davis said.
The builder wants Cape Coral to require him and other contractors to install fire sprinklers in every new single family home for safety.
"How do you replace your child? You can't," Davis said.
While no one disputes the added safety of security, construction experts fear a rigid requirement could stall growth in a struggling economy.
"Mandatory is a tough one to swallow," said Moe Beneke with Cape Coral Construction Industry Association. "If it was just safety, there's not a person in our industry who wouldn't say yes...but it's more than that."
In her office Tuesday afternoon, Beneke stressed the added costs could price out some new homeowners. She battled back against the effort and stressed sprinklers should be a consumer's choice.
"Someone who wants a fire sprinkler system will buy a fire sprinkler system. That is their prerogative. It is the person who can't," said Beneke.
A vote on the proposed ordinance could come as early as April.
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