Friday firefighters in Harrisonburg burned down two mock dorm rooms, near James Madison University.
It was all part of an experiment to show the difference in burn times for rooms with, and without sprinklers.
Crews say their average response time for the city is about four minutes, but as the demonstration shows, fire can cause major damage in seconds.
The training exercise took place at the Hunters Ridge Apartment Complex, which is home to a lot of students, but community members were invited to watch as well.
Fire and life safety education specialist Mary Messerley says a lot of people avoid sprinklers, because they think the systems can cause damage to the home, but she says not getting the system could be worse.
“The sprinkler area will absolutely just take one area, over the area of fire. In a non-sprinklered room, you’re dealing with fire everywhere, and you’re dealing with fire fighters that have to come in with hoses and muddy boots, and all of that kind of stuff,” says Messerley.
Now for the results. The fire in the room with the sprinkler took just 45 seconds to put out.
The room without the sprinkler took two and a half minutes.
National fire prevention week begins Monday.
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Fire Sprinkler Experiment In Harrisonburg
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