firesprinkler.tv Fire sprinkler

Firefighters still are investigating the cause of a fire Monday afternoon that caused an estimated $41,000 in damage to an injection molding machine at Team Technologies Molding.

Four employees were treated and transported to Delnor Hospital in Geneva for smoke inhalation after the fire.

Along with the damage to the machine, there was an estimated $1,000 in damage to the building at 1300 Nagel Blvd.

The fire was under control when firefighters arrived on the scene at 12:39 p.m. because of the building’s sprinkler system and employees with fire extinguishers.

“The sprinkler system did its job and kept the fire in check,” Batavia Fire Lt. Rick Rubo said.

Firefighters from Batavia, Geneva and Fermilab confirmed the fire was out, and they ventilated the building.

Team Technologies employee Emily Haring said she was in the building’s front office when “someone from the shop came in the office screaming, and then we heard the alarm.”

Haring said she was glad no one was injured.

“Everybody made it out fine,” she said. “We’re all OK.”

University of Missouri fraternity and sorority houses still will be required to install fire sprinklers but not until 2016.

The Columbia City Council unanimously agreed this week to give Greek houses more time to comply so they would have more time to raise money for the systems. Previously, they would have been required to comply in December 2012.

The sprinkler ordinance was approved in January 2007.

Fire safety in and near campus has been discussed since the 1999 fire death of a student at the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Elected leaders say they will consider later whether to extend the requirement to other residential buildings, including apartment complexes.

Adding sprinklers into new residential construction would cost about $1.12 per square foot, said Jim Plumber of Thorpe Design Fire Sprinklers, who spoke at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting this week.

That amount is based on the average cost in Tennessee, but Plumber noted it is more costly in other places. In some places, he said he’s seen it cost just under a dollar.

Some aldermen had concerns about driving up the cost of new homes. Plumber said homeowners would likely get that money back in savings on their homeowner’s insurance. He said there are no reported deaths from fires in homes with sprinklers.

“It’s not my personal opinion, it’s a documented fact,” Plumber said.

Vice Mayor Miles Johnson asked about the maintenance cost for homeowners each year in testing these sprinkler systems. Plumber said homeowners can test them themselves annually.

Nolensville has required sprinklers in homes of more than 3,000 square feet since 2004. In 2005, the town eliminated an opt-out fee and took out that minimum size requirement.

The Spring Hill board unanimously approved the ordinance on first reading. Second reading is scheduled for the board’s next voting meeting, which is 7 p.m. April 20 at City Hall, 199 Town Center Parkway.

Next Page

undefined

Previous Page

Contact Jill Cecil Wiersma at 615-790-7207 or jwiersma@
tennessean.com.

The mission of the Beaufort Fire Department is to protect the lives and property of Beaufort residentsfrom the devastation of fire, along with other natural and man-made disasters.

Providing such service has been a challenge over the years with all of the changes in our demographics, growth and economy. Our challenge is to provide the best service we can in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Intensifying that challenge is the modern home, where more than 79 percent of fires and fire deaths occur. Our homes now are built “green” and airtight and are filled with an abundance of plastics, synthetics and chemically treated textiles combined with composite materials that are causing fires that are more toxic and explosive than ever before.

Here in Beaufort, we have been faced with rapid growth and a subsequent increase in emergency calls that now exceeds 2,000 annually between the city of Beaufort and the town of Port Royal. We have built at an unprecedented rate, and we’re building homes made of lightweight wood construction in close proximity to one another.

F&C file photo
Minnesota