It’s best known for the plucky pilgrims who voyaged across the Atlantic on the Mayflower 389 years ago; but the town of Plymouth, Mass., is much more than just a historic footnote. Today, it is the second-largest town in the state, boasting a thriving tourist trade, a busy port, an emerging television and movie studio industry, and an idyllic seaside setting for some 60,000 lucky residents.

Protecting all this splendor is the Plymouth Fire Department, which handles public safety for the 104-square-mile jurisdiction through seven fire stations. The department was selected by the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) to host a national satellite media tour and public side-by-side fire and sprinkler comparison demonstration at its headquarters building.

The demonstration was part of a joint effort among HFSC, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office. The public was invited and Boston market media were encouraged to attend. Speakers included NFPA President Jim Shannon, State Fire Marshal Steve Coen, and Plymouth Fire Chief G. Edward Bradley. HFSC spokesperson Ron Hazelton served as emcee.

The event attracted a large local crowd as well as a strong media contingent. HFSC videotaped the demonstration, which was used the next day as part of a national satellite media tour featuring Hazelton. More than 15 television stations participated in the tour, bringing the dramatic side-by-side fire and sprinkler footage to life for thousands of viewers.

Following the instructions included in HFSC’s new Side-by-Side Kit for fire departments, two rooms were built and identically furnished in the parking lot; both included smoke alarms but only one had a sprinkler system installed.

For the demonstration, fires were lit in each room – simply igniting newspaper in lightweight wastebaskets. With Plymouth firefighters standing by, the unprotected side was allowed to burn to flashover to demonstrate the speed and danger of a typical home fire – it was fully engulfed in well under three minutes. The sprinkler controlled the fire in the protected side in only seconds.

“It was really exciting to see,” says Bill Gallagher, Yankee Sprinkler Company’s vice president of operations. “I’ve seen burns in the past at FM Global, but nothing like this. I think everyone was impressed.”

Yankee donated the design, materials and labor for the sprinkler system. The units were built with a team effort led by Plymouth Battalion Chief Mike Young and Department personnel. 

Yankee installs between 12 and 15 systems in single-family homes each year. The East Bridgewater, Mass., company handles design, installation and inspection for commercial and residential business and has been an AFSA member for more than two decades. Yankee is licensed in four New England states.

The company’s residential work has grown slowly over the past five years, Gallagher says. “Most of the installations are voluntary. One of the encouraging things I’ve seen is that we’re now getting into more mainstream homes – 1,500-2,000 ft2. It’s not just people who want every bell and whistle they can purchase – these are people making educated decisions about value for their dollar. It’s encouraging to see these 13D systems making their way into middle-American homes.”

Gallagher sees education as the main driver of the increased interest. “It’s people hearing and reading about it. That’s where HFSC is doing a good job. I’ve been doing this for 26 years and I can see what the educational outreach has done.”
Gallagher has also seen a positive shift in homebuilder reaction. “They kind of do come kicking and screaming, but it’s been a progression. Like all new technologies there are concerns at first. I think the misconceptions about sprinklers have been a hurdle that education has helped to change.”

While many homebuilders still buy into sprinkler myths, Gallagher says there is reason to be optimistic. “Repeat builders have a whole new understanding,” he says. “In the end, the contractors see that it is far less technical than they assumed, and a lot less problematic than they feared. Some of these builders end up really excited about it. In fact, I did one a few months ago where the sprinklered house ended up being a showcase for the contractor.”

HFSC’s side-by-side demonstration provided valuable publicity for Yankee Sprinkler Company. But Gallagher says there was a side benefit that was even more important. “We spend a lot of time in-house talking about what we do – we don’t make widgets, we’re involved in life safety and property protection. But seeing that burn and flashover and seeing the sprinkler put out a fire that quickly was important for my guys and for me. I couldn’t talk about that with the kind of clarity that they saw.”
Gallagher’s only regret is that the entire company didn’t get to see the demonstration. “The next time I have the opportunity to see one, everybody goes. We’re sincere, but all the lip service doesn’t compare to seeing and feeling the heat. We’ve been to plenty of buildings that have had a fire with and without sprinklers. But I can’t emphasize enough how impressive the demonstration is.”

Gallagher is motivated to do more in residential. He has a long history of interacting with fire departments about community fire sprinkler protection. “I visit the departments to keep them in the loop,” he explains. “I want fire guys to know that this is what they’re getting. Maybe it’s a good time for me to do that on the residential end too.

He says the hurdle is getting into the mainstream market. “I’m looking forward to the time when Mr. and Mrs. America start putting these in, in a big way. I’m open to doing more outreach for single-family work. I was really excited to be part of HFSC’s demonstration. I think the HFSC deserves a lot of credit for getting this information out there, and consistently. It’s really good to see.”

You can go the The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition's website to order the Fire and Sprinkler Burn Demonstration Kit.