FIRE SAFETY
Michael Holigan: It's a homeowner's worst nightmare. Every year in the United States tens of thousands of people are injured and disfigured in residential fires. Over 4,000 people are killed and more than eight billion dollars worth of property goes up in smoke. Fire officials say much of the damage and loss of life could be avoided if more people took a few simple precautions. Homes are now required by law to have smoke detectors in all of the bedrooms and some of the other rooms of the house. But have you ever thought about wiring the smoke detectors in with your security system so they can be monitored? Curtis Fletcher with U.S. Alarm has. Good to have you here Curt.
Curtis Fletcher: Thank you.
MH: What kind of system have we got behind us here?
CF: What you have is a First Alert system here. It's a security system and it's also a fire system. And as you see right up above you here you'll see a smoke detector that's hung on the wall. It's actually battery operated and electric operated. It also detects heat and smoke.
MH: What sets this system apart from the standard smoke detectors found in most homes is the fact that when this device senses smoke or heat above 135 degrees it sends a signal to the system control panel which automatically dials up a monitoring station.
Female: Yes, this is Emergency Alert and I've dispatched on a fire alarm.
MH: When the alarm comes in, the fire department is dispatched to the house immediately. Every second counts. Stations like this one operate around the clock in specially designed centers with fireproof walls, multiple power backups and state-of-the-art digital equipment. That way, they'll never be offline and leaves home unprotected. The typical station like this one can monitor tens of thousands of homes. The key is getting fireman to the house as soon as possible.
CF: We know that we can usually get a fire, a fire station, fire group out here in about four to six minutes, where if it's burning from without you've got to wait for the homeowner next door to see it or someone driving by to see it. If it's burning within it could go 20, 30 minutes before anyone really detects it.
MH: A monitored fire alarm system is usually installed along with a standard security alarm system and is wired into the walls of the house. If a fire breaks out while you're at home, some systems have special panic buttons. That saves you from having to get to the phone to call the emergency operator.
CF: If you push these two buttons, let's say you have a fire or you indicate smoke in your home, you push these two buttons right here, our monitoring station will actually pick that up, dispatch the fire department. All we want you to do is gather your kids and get out of the home.
MH: The good news for homeowners is the alarm business is very competitive. In most parts of the country you can get a complete system installed for less than $200.00. Most companies want you to sign a monitoring contract for a period of two to three years. The average monitoring fee is $20 to $30 a month. In most states you can get up to 20% off your annual homeowner's insurance premium if you have a monitored fire and burglar alarm system in your home. That savings alone can cover as much as half of your annual monitoring fee. There are other steps you can take to protect your house against fire. In some parts of the country wood shake roofs are very popular, but they're known to be very vulnerable to fire. Now there are fire retardant products on the market that you can apply directly to a roof or any other part of the home that could catch fire.
Donnie Stanfield: Our product is odorless, colorless and will not stain anything.
MH: Donnie Stanfield's company has invented a product called Flame Buster. He claims it can protect materials, including roofs, against fire for up to 25 years.
DS: We charge 50 cents a square foot to put it on a roof. On a 2,000 square foot roof, which is a basic three-bedroom house, it would cost $1,000. We have a sealant that we go right over the top of it that would cost another $400.00. So you're talking $1,400 for 25 years of guarantee.
MH: He even recommends putting Flame Buster on the frame as your new house is being built.
DS: We put this on the particleboard and the Sheetrock and the framing of the house before it's completely finished. That way it ensures that if there's any wires that short out that it won't start any type of wood or anything on fire and it gives a lifetime barrier.
MH: But, does it work?
DS: This is a piece of material off of a couch. See how quick and easy that goes up, will start on fire. This is the same piece of material that has been treated with our fire retardant. It just goes completely out. It may melt it a little bit, but it will not catch on fire.
MH: We tested other materials. Foam padding can be especially prone to fire.
DS: Here's one that's got our fire retardant on it. Flame Buster will keep the flame from going anywhere.
MH: Even cardboard, an extremely flammable material under normal circumstances.
DS: It goes completely out.
MH: And how about those wood shingles? We tested kindling size pieces of wood shake. Untreated, they burned right up. But the shingles treated with a fire retardant would not stay lit. It even worked on tissue paper. Fire Marshal, Russ Mower, likes the idea, but he wonders if it's worth the cost.
Russ Mower: As a Fire Marshal I'm not going to tell you not to put a fire retardant treatment on your roof, because anything that you can do to an untreated wood shingle roof to make it more fire resistant is a help. But, the cost of some of these treatments get real close to the cost of reroofing your house with composition shingles.
MH: And it's a good idea to shop around.
RM: There are numerous companies in most metropolitan areas that sell these products and look closely at them and even call your local Fire Marshal to see what he or she has to say about that.
Contacts:
FirstAlertPro.com
FlameBuster.com
Episode 62 1997 - 98 Season
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