Scroll down to read Prince George’s County study on the benefits of residential fire sprinklers.
There is perhaps no greater example of the importance of fire prevention education, fire mitigation technology and fire code enforcement than India. That country suffered another tragic fire this week in what seems an unending string of mass-casualty fires directly tied to a lack of fire safety.
The most recent incident took place late Monday where fire broke out in the dialysis unit of a hospital and quickly spread. One of the first areas it spread to was the intensive care unit.
Local media sources reported that at least 20 people died and as many as 105 were injured. Firefighters had to break windows to rescue the patients.
One report says the hospital’s fire-safety program was last audited in 2013 and that the required changes were not made. Those changes included an emergency evacuation plan, an external fire escape and fire sprinklers. Hospital officials refute this claim.
So far, four hospital officials have been arrested in connection with this fire and what happened after it broke out.
This is not an isolated incident.
Earlier this year, more than 100 died in a fire during a large religious ceremony, which officials said was due to poorly implemented safety standards and emergency planning. And now reports are coming out that many of the country’s hospitals also lack fire safety protections.
India’s tragedies highlight a very common human problem: We know what can go wrong, we know how to mitigate it yet we don’t invest the time and money to ensure those safeguards are in place.
There’s the often-cited 15-year study out of Prince George’s County, Md., that looked at the effects of its mandatory fire-sprinkler ordinance in new single- and two-family homes. They saw no deaths and six injuries in the 245 fires where the sprinklers were activated.
To a greater extent than India, we better understand the fire-safety problems, we better understand the solutions and we have the money to bring those solutions to fruition. Yet, we still see push back from the likes of anti-government regulation groups, homebuilder groups and a host of others.
The current circus-like presidential campaign has been hard to turn our collective heads away from. Yet, as the late Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill said, “All politics is local.”
Whether you find Trump appalling and Clinton loveable, Trump loveable and Clinton appalling or if both leave you longing for extra time in the decon tent, I urge you to spend some time looking down ballot.
Down the ballot you’ll find those running for state, county and municipal offices. This is where the fire-safety rubber meets the road. These are the individuals who will enact policies and budgets that will determine how well a fire department can protect its community.
When fire departments are underfunded, prevention and code enforcement are often the first to be cut. When builder lobbyists have political leaders on a leash, sprinkler ordinances stand little chance of passing.
Take the next few weeks to become familiar with where those down-ballot candidates say they stand on fire safety issues and their past performance on them.
India is a glaring example of how shoddy fire safety practices lead to tragedy. And that is an example we should demand our leaders follow.
Prince George’s County 15-year study report
