Changes coming for STATter911.com: Over the next day or so this blog should look very different. New blogging software will be used and you will start seeing some advertising. The most important thing is that it will be the same lame content you have come to know and love. It will now be very important for you to access us through http://www.statter911.com/. The longer wusa9.com link may not be operating once the switch is made.

Union prez takes issue with the term “comedy act”: IAFF Local 36′s Ray Sneed says if the sprinkler demonstration that left a firefighter burned was a “comedy act” then Dennis Rubin was the “chief comedian”. For his part DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Rubin stands by his assessment of the October 7 incident. We have some raw video and more from our interview with both gentlemen yesterday. Click here.

Dog saves the day for large family: A large family owes its escape from a fire in Beltsville, Maryland yesterday morning to smoke alarms and their dog. Read and watch the story.

Firehouse porn costs city $200,000: That’s the settlement a female San Jose firefighter is getting after she reported hard-core porn at her firehouse. Read the story.

Firefighter accused of punching dog is still on the job: Over the past year there have been some bad doings between firefighters and dogs. There was the Los Angeles County assistant chief accused of beating a neighbor’s dog and there was the Columbus firefighter who shot his two dogs to avoid paying kennel charges while on vacation. Now there is the Newport Beach, California firefighter suspected of punching his girlfriend’s Chihuahua in the face resulting in the dog being euthanized. He is still on the job. So far no charges have been filed. Read the story.

Fire department to close. Firefighters could join public safety department: Leoni Township, Michigan is shutting down its fire department and putting it all in the hands of its public safety department that responds to both police and fire responses. The firefighters who are losing their jobs can negotiate to get a job in the public safety department. Click here for the story.

More from Milwaukee: Firefighters continue to fight proposed budget cuts. Here’s the latest.

Here’s the description with this fire on Monday (sorry for the caps):

CREWS FROM UNION COUNTY HAD THEIR HANDS FULL WITH THIS STUBBORN FIRE. UNION COUNTY MUTUAL AID TASK FORCE WAS ACTIVATED BRINGING UNITS TO THE SCENE FROM PLAINFIELD, CRANFORD, ROSELLE, SCOTCH PLAINS, GARWOOD, MOUTAINSIDE, AND ADDITIONAL M/A TO COVER. INITIAL CREWS MADE AN INTERIOR ATTACK, CREWS WERE EVACUATED FROM THE BUILDING. AS M/A ARRIVED INTERIOR OPERATIONS CONTINUED AFTER KNOCKING DOWN THE FIRE FROM THE EXTERIOR AND APPEARED TO HAVE THE FIRE VIA INTERIOR. FIRE STILL MANAGED TO SURVIVE IN THE REAR 2ND FLOOR CEILINGS.

Firehouse.com now has a view from what the chief saw during last Wednesday’s sprinkler demonstration. The chief told his interviewer that many of the blog comments he read about the incident that left a firefighter with minor burns were over the top, but that some comments were very accurate in their criticism. No word on which blog he reads. New details and links to our coverage below.

Chief Rubin takes responsibility and likens sprinkler demonstration errors to a “comedy act”: Chief Dennis Rubin cited for Campus-Firewatch.com‘s Ed Comeau a series of errors that were made during last Wednesday’s sprinkler demonstration at Gallaudet University that resulted in a firefighter being burned. These include no safety officer, no briefing, no checklist and no backup line. The chief takes responsibility for the event that he says looked like a “comedy act”. We have details on the chief’s remarks, his recorded phone interview with Comeau and a new video on Firehouse.com that shows the demonstration from Chief Rubin’s point of view. The chief also says he is going to write an article about the episode for a fire service magazine. Click here.

More on Rip Van Winkle: A lot of people have been shaking their heads over the story from Ross Township, PA we first brought you Sunday night. This was about the man who was sound asleep in a burning house for 2 hours and 20 minutes after firefighters arrived to put out the fire. Click here for the latest and most detailed article yet on how this occurred.

Video from West Virginia fire: In Wayne, West Virginia a family owned supermarket burned yesterday morning. Click here for some raw video and here to watch the story.

Milwaukee chief says reducing ladder staffing won’t affect public safety: The plan is to take staffing on the last eight ladder companies with five firefighters down to four, closing a ladder company and an engine company, and instituting brownouts of one or two engine companies a day to cut overtime. An alderman has asked firefighters to take a pay freeze instead. Pointing out that only 2-percent of the responses are structure fires, Chief Doug Holton disputes the union’s contention that four-person crews are unsafe. I couldn’t find clarity in the articles I read on the chief’s position on whether the closing of companies would impact safety. Here is the latest from the Journal Sentinel. As always you can find the view of a front line Milwaukee firefighter at thehousewatch.com.

Former union president who beat prostitution charge loses election: A recount didn’t help Darren Bates retain his seat on Iowa’s Council Bluffs City Council. Bates, a former Omaha fire captain, was acquitted on a charge of soliciting a prostitute earlier this year. Here’s the update.

Car plunges 225 feet off cliff. Two elderly men survive: One was able to go for help after the fall off Point Loma in the San Diego area. Click here and here for the story.

Off-duty firefighter tries to save man whose car was hit by a train: An off-duty Marshfield, Wisconsin firefighter tells the story of his unsuccessful attempt to get a 79-year-old man out of the path of a train. The man, who Jeff Barth had met moments earlier in a convenience store, is in intensive care. Click here to watch the interview with Barth. Read the story.

Efficiency and money savings cited in proposal to close four NC fire stations: Click here for the story from Wake County, North Carolina.

Maryland town goes dry. Fire departments pitch in: Mt. Savage in Western Maryland has run out of water. Fire company tankers are replenishing the supply. Click here for the details.

Two for the price of one: This video has two back-to-back house fires from Gary, Indiana at opposite ends of town. Click here to read more about the fires.

UPDATED – Firefighters ordered to back out of fire man sleeps through: A man rolled off a bed onto the floor as a firefighter entered his room two hours after a house fire started in Ross Township, PA. The firefighter was quite startled. The man, now identified as Edward Stefanic, asked, “What are you doing breaking my windows?”. Stefanic was taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Much earlier, firefighters were ordered to abandon their interior attack because of the collapse of the roof. Here’s the story and some added details and links.

Prostitution ring pays numerous of visits to on-duty firefighter: A Nashville firefighter turned in his resignation after his name surfaced in a prostitution ring investigation. The firefighter admitted to using the firehouse for his sexual encounters. Read more.

NEW- Another reason to stop smoking: This is an odd one from Alcoa, Tennessee. A firefighter who went outside the firehouse for a smoke break reported to police his PPE, stashed next to a fire engine, was stolen when he got back inside. Read more.

The sprinkler demonstration causes quite a stir: With its play on many fire service websites, blasted out on The Secret List, shown on CNN, featured on LiveLeak.com and posted on scores of other websites, a lot of eyeballs around the world have seen last Wednesday’s sprinkler demonstration in the District of Columbia. There are more than 100 comments posted with our entry offering a wide range of opinions. While some are quite pointed, my personal favorite is from Lt. T. Cosgrove Jones of the department’s training academy. Lt. Jones doesn’t like the anonymous finger pointing but sees value in the video, writing – “I would hope that a lesson is learned and the video is used as a training tool. I know we will use the video as a training tool.” Having known Lt. Jones for some time, my guess is he will rethink his position once he knows I agree with him. Click here for the video and the comments.

Kentland crew honored: Firefighters from Kentland VFD were recognized by Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Eugene Jones for the April rescue of FF Daniel McGown at a Largo house fire. Read more.

Tired of the serious discussion and need a little comic relief: After reading all of those comments on the sprinkler video I know I needed it. The laughs are coming from a Detroit fire video that has its own live musical accompaniment. This isn’t any dubbed in music from Backdraft or Ladder 49. And it isn’t the Motown sound as we know it. But it is quite memorable. Click here for the clip that has now made my “Top 5″ list of favorite videos I have posted on the blog. I just wonder what the firefighter on the roof was thinking.

I don’t blame them, I wouldn’t want to associate with me either: I have been doing a number of talks about social media and its impact on the fire service. Maybe I should look at the emotional toll it can take on those who are left in the dust when their attempts to “follow” or “friend” someone are rebuffed. I write this with fresh first hand knowledge. I’ve been snubbed. I have been “blocked” on Twitter as if I was one of those services that “follow” you offering a good time (usually a little more direct than that). After “following” more than 800 people and organizations, the Columbia South Carolina’s Association of Professional Firefighters (CFFA) are the first to “block” me (you always remember your first). Now I know how devastated all those women I have “blocked” must feel when I turn down what they are selling. Who can fault CFFA for not wanting to expose their followers to the junk that is on this blog? I actually admire them for doing this, because as Groucho Marx famously wrote, “I wouldn’t want to belong to a club that would have me as a member”.

UPDATED- Ugly statistic from West Virginia: State Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis told WOWK-TV that so far this year 30 firefighters have been arrested and charged with arson. “What my worst nightmare is, I’ll get that 3 and 4 o’clock call from the arson hot line that a firefighter has died, and another firefighter set the fire.” Read the story. Watch the story.

Firefighter makes the rescue, but first he has to dock the boat: An interesting story from Florida where an off-duty firefighter spots an apartment fire while out on his boat. Check it out.

Gunfire and scuffle punctuate deadly Houston fire: Firegeezer has the story of a house fire with three children trapped and bars on the windows. Firefighters were able to save one of the children, despite an uncle walking around with a gun. That same man is said to have gotten into a fight with a news photographer. Click here.

More from Houston where the FD and ATF weren’t reading from the same playbook: Early on Saturday, the Houston Chronicle quoted District Chief Tommy Dowdy as saying two persons of interest were in custody for a string of fires in vacant buildings. Later on Saturday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms held a press conference saying that was not the case. Here’s the story.

Weekend videos: We posted another one from Thursday’s house fire in Waterbury, CT and a three-alarm fire in Marlborough, MA.

Mother of fallen firefighter wants chief to resign: In Racine, Missouri there are problems between the mother of a firefighter killed storm spotting and the chief of the department. The dispute at the Seneca Area Fire Protection District is making the local papers. Click here.

By Nicole Young at the Tennessean.com:

A Nashville firefighter has admitted to investigators that he paid women to have sex with him at the Murfreesboro Pike fire hall where he worked, Metro Police said Friday.

Terry Canady, a 23-year veteran firefighter, resigned from the department on Thursday.

He will keep his department benefits and has taken an early service pension, said Nashville Fire Department spokeswoman Kim Lawson.

“Chief (Steve) Halford has requested a thorough review into the matter,” Lawson said. The review will begin Monday.

“We will be looking to see if anyone knew this was going on,” she said. “But we have received no information regarding the involvement of any other employees.”

Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said Canady is not facing any criminal charges right now.

“At best, he’d be guilty of a misdemeanor for which a citation could be issued,” Aaron said. “But the police department did not witness this and there’s no evidence other than what people have said.”

Canady admitted to calling prostitutes and receiving services from them as recently as last summer, Aaron said.

Investigators say the women he called were involved in a family prostitution ring. Teresa West, 45, of Nashville, and her son and daughter, Casey West, 20, and Diana West, 22, were charged in federal court with using a minor for commercial sex in August.

The mother also is charged in state court with trafficking for sexual servitude and promoting prostitution.

Though a federal investigation has focused on underage girls’ being involved in West’s business, police do not believe any of the women who visited Canady were underage.

Lawson says she worries about how Canady’s actions will affect the department.

“We have a very good and very hardworking fire department and for an employee to do something like this is an embarrassment,” she said. “To our knowledge, nothing like this has ever happened at the fire department before.”

Two fire engines are housed at the station where Canady worked, along with a staff of about six to eight people who work 24-hour shifts with 48 hours off.

Investigators did not say where in the building or when the sex acts occurred.

Lawson said she wasn’t aware of any past disciplinary actions in Canady’s file.

Click here for video from fire

Detailed article from Post-Gazette

Image and story from KDKA-TV:

A man survived a two-story home fire in Ross Township early Sunday morning after being trapped for over two hours in the flames.

According to officials at the scene, the fire started around 2:35 a.m. at 135 Buckhill Road.

Firefighters were informed of two individuals in the home that was fully engulfed. An elderly woman was accounted for, but her adult son was not.

Due to the intense heat, firefighters were ordered to evacuate the house.

At 5:10 a.m., firefighters found the son in the house alive. He was transported to an area hospital and his condition is not known at this time.

Neighbors tell KDKA-TV that the house is over 100 years old and an original structure from a farm that dates back to last century.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire at this time.

More from WTAE-TV:

Perrysville Volunteer Fire Chief Eric Wissner said crews got the fire under control in about two hours. Crews then went back inside the house during salvage operations, at which time, they found a man in a first-floor bedroom. Authorities said the resident slept through the fire. He taken to UPMC-Mercy for smoke inhalation.

“He kicked the door in, and when he entered the room, the resident actually slid off the mattress onto the floor, which startled the firefighter (who was) not expecting so see anybody,” said John Reubi, Ross Township’s fire marshal.

Officials said the house had several additions, which helped shield the man’s bedroom during the firefight.

By Cristela Guerra at News-Press.com:

From his boat, an off-duty Bonita Springs firefighter saw plumes of smoke.

Jason Burgess acted immediately, docking his boat and running up to the second-floor apartment at the Shell Point retirement community, said Iona- McGregor Fire Rescue spokeswoman Lauri McMahon. Inside, was 92-year-old Herbert Hansen.

The fire that started on the lanai of Hansen’s condominium was tempered by sprinklers, she said. Burgess, 38, of Cape Coral, reportedly dragged the man from the flames, which started near the couch in the corner of the lanai.

Hansen suffered burns to his hands, legs and face and was taken by helicopter to Lee Memorial Hospital. As of Saturday evening, he remained in serious condition.

McMahon said Burgess only stayed until paramedics and Iona-McGregor firefighters arrived. He later got on his boat and left.

He couldn’t be reached for comment late Saturday.

“In the short time firefighter Burgess has been with us, he has showed exceptional qualities and I wouldn’t expect anything less. I’m extremely proud of him,” according to a statement from Bonita Springs Fire Chief Phil Kinsey, Jr.

“Know his character, it’s not surprising,” said Debbie Redfield, spokeswoman at Bonita Springs Fire Rescue.

PGFD photo.

Previous STATter911.com coverage: Firefighter rescued, news coverage & raw video of aftermath-April 8; Fireground Audio-April 9; McGown leaves hospital-April 14; Man charged with setting fire-August 19

You may recall the April house fire in Largo, Maryland that seriously burned Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department’s Daniel McGown. Firefighter McGown’s PASS alerted other firefighters that he was down. After a stay in the MedStar Burn Unit of the Washington Hospital Center and weeks of recovery at home, FF McGown went back to full duty. Since then an arrest has been made of the person investigators say started the fire.

At the convention of the Prince George’s County Volunteer Fire & Rescue association, PGFD Chief Eugene Jones recognized the firefighters from Kentland VFD who found McGown and brought him to safety. In addition, three career paramedics will be honored at another date.

Here is how PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady described the rescue on his blog:

Firefighters from the first arriving engine company advanced hoselines through the front door and started to knock down the fire. Additional units arrived shortly after and initiated their assigned suppression duties. During this time, a firefighters’ Personal Accountability Safety System (PASS) sounded and was heard by a team of interior firefighters. Heavy fire conditions still consumed the first floor area as firefighters started to search for the source of the sounding PASS device. A downed firefighter was soon located in a room adjacent to the kitchen area and a MAYDAY was sounded. While one of the interior firefighters directed a hoseline to protect those assisting the downed firefighter from the rapidly extending fire, the firefighter that located the injured member was rapidly assessing his condition. The downed firefighter was found to be unconscious and suffering from burns to his face.

Here is Brady’s list of those involved in saving FF McGown:

Volunteer Lieutenant Joe Brown, Kentland VFD, for locating the downed firefighter and initiating mayday call and rescue.

Volunteer Firefighter Timothy McCloskey, Kentland VFD, for protecting firefighters during rescue operations by directing a hoseline in the kitchen area and keeping the fire in check.

Volunteer Deputy Chief Pat Mann, Kentland VFD, for assisting in the rescue

Volunteer Fire Fighter Curtis Patterson, Kentland VFD, for assisting in the rescue

Volunteer Fire Fighter Tim Moore, Kentland VFD, for assisting in the rescue

Volunteer Fire Fighter Peter Johnson, Kentland VFD, for assisting in the rescue

Volunteer Chief Tony Kelleher – Incident Commander, Kentland VFD, for managing an intense incident that included a mayday and firefighter rescue during heavy fire conditions.

Paramedic Captain Danny Hughes, EMS Supervisor, for administering advanced life support including airway management and quickly transporting to the Burn Unit.

Fire Fighter/Medic Dan Robinson, Paramedic Unit 846, for administering advanced life support including airway management and quickly transporting to the Burn Unit.

Fire Fighter/Medic Jamieson Scarlata, Paramedic Unit 846, for administering advanced life support including airway management and quickly transporting to the Burn Unit.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

This is another video from a fire Thursday in Waterbury, Connecticut. The fire started around 1:00 PM in the three-story home under renovation. Read more about the fire here.

Here is the slide show we brought you earlier. A previous video has been removed.

Waterbury had another house fire early Friday morning. This one was in a vacant home and spread to exposures on either side. Click here.

This fire was reported around 10:00 last night on Lincoln Court in Marlborough, Massachusetts. ProvidenceFireVideos.com shot the video above. Reports indicate the initial callers described an explosion. Here is part of the description with the video:

Units arrived with heavy fire showing from the 2nd floor. Residents reported smelling gas the past few days. 3 alarms were quickly struck as fire took possession of the upper floors and forced firefighters to fight the fire from the exterior. It took over an hour to bring the blaze under control.

Bill Carey at Firefighter Nation proves that sometimes life is just a circus with the YouTube video above he discovered. The Nero of Detroit doesn’t have a fiddle. He has an accordian (or the “cordeen”, as Pete Barbuti used to say).

UPDATE – DC sprinkler demo actually shows off PPE after 3 firefighters catch fire: A scary few moments during Wednesday’s sprinkler demonstration at Gallaudet University. The gear of three DC firefighters began burning when a large clump of burning plastic dripped and fell on them. DC Fire & EMS Department now says the sergeant from Engine 6 was burned on the face and hand. He spent the night in the MedStar Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center and has been released. Click here to see the video. 

NAHB finds fault with Prince George’s County sprinkler study: The National Association of Home Builders responded to STATter911.com yesterday about the new sprinkler study in Prince George’s County. A spokesperson says the study is flawed because there is no smoke alarm data. Since we posted the response from NAHB, the PGFD and Maryland State Fire Marshal.Read more.

Really?: This is a paragraph in a Fire Prevention Week article from Indiana’s News & Tribune. I am assuming the reporter just misunderstood something-

Lt. Andre Heal, of the Charlestown Fire Department, said that until the 1980s when air packs became more available, firefighters could not go inside burning homes.

Police looking into hazing incident in CT: Seven junior and senior members of the Quaker Hill Fire Company have been suspended while police in Waterford check out allegations that someone was tied up during a hazing incident. The fire chief says it was just horsing around. Watch the story. Read the story.

FDNY Commissioner to step down: Seventy-six-year-old Nicholas Scoppetta is leaving the Bloomberg administration at the end of the year. Read more.

Nine-year dispute with city is now over: Not a lot of details yet but the City of Louisville and its firefighters have reached an agreement over a long standing overtime dispute. Read the story.

Punches thrown then church burns: Check out the story from Tennessee where a 70-year-old church is destroyed by fire.

Fire department to charge for some services: In Ypsilanti, Michigan the council has voted to let the fire department start billing insurance companies for some services. Read more.

House fire in Connecticut: From Waterbury on Wednesday. Click here for a slideshow of the fire.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

New York Daily News photo by Steven. Read more.

From the AP:

New York City’s fire commissioner is leaving the department at the end of the year to pursue teaching opportunities.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

Read Prince George’s County study

NAHB’s website “Smoke Alarms Work”

Watch sprinkler demonstration and interviews (or here)

Read story on study and sprinkler demonstration

The National Association of Home Builders has provided a response to STATter911.com’s request for comment about our story on the new study of the first county in the United States to enact a residential sprinkler requirement for new homes. The study found that Prince George’s County, Maryland has not had one fire fatality in a sprinklered single-family home or townhome since sprinklers were mandated in 1992.

Calli Barker Schmidt, who is NAHB’s director of environmental communications, sent this statement by email earlier today:

According to the United States Fire Administration, there were NO reported fatalities in the state of Maryland in homes that were equipped with working hardwired, interconnected smoke alarms between 2002 and 2006. That is why NAHB believes that making sure every home has working smoke alarms should be our safety priority, not mandating expensive sprinkler systems for consumers who overwhelmingly don’t want them. Because the Prince George’s County study inexplicably ignores the question of whether these homes lacked smoke alarms, it adds little to the body of knowledge on keeping people safe from house fires.

When made aware of NAHB’s position on the study, Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady sent the following message by email:

Having a working smoke alarm increases the chances of surviving a home fire by about 50 percent. Having a working smoke alarm and a residential fire sprinkler nearly guarantees your survival.

Maryland State Fire Marshal Bill Barnard also had something to see about NAHB’s response:

The fire service recognizes the value of working smoke alarms. As you are aware, smoke alarms are for notification only; they do nothing to extinguish a fire. Check out the OSFM website under the tab on the left side of the page, Safety and Prevention. There are a couple of years worth of Fire Death reports that include smoke alarm performance data. You will see there are several fatal fires each year where the smoke alarm was reported to have functioned.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

Fire chief and EMT wife are first on scene of daughter’s fatal crash: An awful story from Cashion, Oklahoma where Chief Danny Clark and his wife Stephanie responded to a report of an accident early Sunday morning. An SUV loaded with teens had hit a tree and overturned. A passenger dead on the scene was the Clark’s 16-year-old daughter Kalee Jo. Here’s the story.

Sprinkler study: Four of the eight living Prince George’s County fire chiefs were in attendance at yesterday’s sprinkler demo at MFRI. They included three former chiefs and the current one. At the demonstration they also officially released the study we showed you yesterday morning looking at the impact of the first sprinkler law for new single family homes enacted by a county. The ordinance was passed in 1987 and fully phased in by 1992. Click here for my talks with the chiefs about the study.

Did closed fire companies impact fatal fire?: That’s the question being asked in Vallejo, California where the closest station to a fire that killed two woman over the weekend was closed. Read the story. Vallejo’s problems have long been one of Firegeezer’s favorite subjects. Click here for the history.

Recruitment and retention in PA: According to the Post-Gazette there were 300,000 volunteers in Pennsylvania in 1975 and less than 50,000 today. Read about the issues.

Conshohocken conflagration leads to $36 million settlement: Do you remember that fire storm 14 months ago in Conshohocken, PA? A welder’s torch sparked the blaze. Tenants burned out are sharing in a large settlement of a lawsuit. Read the details. Watch the story.

Speaking of conflagrations, Geezer gives us a first hand account of one: Back when he was hawking his one page Firegeezer, walking firehouse to firehouse (printed on his press that came from Gutenberg), Bill Schumm apparently covered the Great Chicago Fire. Okay, he was a young geezer then. Here on the anniversary Bill recounts the story and some of his original coverage at the modern day version of his rag, Firegeezer.com.

Beach fire department expansion on hold: In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware the economy’s impact on fundraising is also slowing the fire department. Click here.

Massachusetts firefighters are stimulated back into jobs: Stimulus money is apparently allowing the rehiring of more than a hundred firefighters who have been laid off around the state. Check it out.

Driver of fire truck in Indonesia named as suspect in child’s death: It sounds like a runaway fire truck during a fire left a 9-year-old boy dead in Tangerang. Read the story.

If this is part of being an all-hazards department, I made the right decision to get out a long time ago: This is definitely an aspect of being a firefighter I would want nothing to do with. In Walnut Hills, Florida, firefighters handled rattlesnake removal. Here it is.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

Read Prince George’s County study

NAHB’s website “Smoke Alarms Work”

Watch sprinkler demonstration and interviews (or here)

Jim Estepp says his boss, at first, thought that Estepp had lost his mind. But it didn’t take long for Prince George’s County Executive Parris Glendening to be convinced enough to take the fire chief’s idea of mandatory sprinklers to the County Council.

The year was 1987, and just like today, Estepp says there was strong opposition from the home building industry. “I remember the Washington Post editorial that said if you adopt this ordinance somebody is going to be fixing breakfast and they are going to get wet”.

Despite opposition, Prince George’s County became the first county in the country to mandate sprinklers in all new single-family homes. The requirement was phased in by 1992.

Now, a new study puts a big smile on the face of Estepp, who later became public safety director and a council member. It shows no one has died from a fire in any of those sprinklered homes. In the same 15-year period covered by the study, 101 people died in county homes without sprinklers.

“We said it was going to save lives and 20-years-later we were proved to be exactly right”, Estepp said during a sprinkler demonstration Wednesday at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI) in College Park.

MFRI’s director, Steve Edwards, was the PGFD chief in 1992 when the law took effect. Edwards says their study of fire fatalities showed as good as the fire department was, and as fast as they responded, it was not good enough.

The report, covering the years 1992 to 2007, was prepared by Steve Weatherby, a captain at the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company in Baltimore County, as part of his studies at the University of Maryland University College. It was produced in cooperation with the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, PGFD and the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.

According to the study, there were only six injuries in 245 fires in the sprinklered homes. In the more than 13,000 fires in non-spinklered homes there were 328 injuries.

“The data is very clear”, according to Eugene Jones, PGFD’s current chief. Even though the issue was fought in his county long before he took office, Chief Jones believes the study could help as the International Code Council again considers the issue on October 28 in Baltimore. Homebuilders are trying to reverse a victory for the fire service last year in Minneapolis.

The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) has long advocated that residential sprinklers should not be mandatory. They have cited added costs to new homes, water damage and concerns that the sprinklers aren’t proven. NAHB was contacted for this story, but did not respond by deadline.

In Wednesday’s demonstration Maryland State Fire Marshal Bill Barnard point to the limited damage in the sprinklered room compared to an identical room without a sprinkler. The study shows that on average a fire in a sprinklered home caused $4883 in property loss compared to $9983 in a non-sprinklered home. That number jumps to almost $50,000 in homes where there was a fire fatality.

Another former Prince George’s County fire chief at the demonstration, Ron Siarnicki, says it isn’t only about the safety of the public. Currently the executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Siarnicki makes the point that firefighters lives can also be saved by residential sprinklers.

MFRI’s Edwards believes a sprinkler system is like having a firefighter in your home.