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Casey Burns came home around 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 2001, and could hear his fire alarm system sounding at the home he’s only lived in for about two months near the 9000 block of 208th Avenue N.E. in Redmond, Washington. When he opened the front door, he could see the blackened remains of the couch in his family’s living room just twenty feet from where he was standing. A total of five sprinkler heads had activated in his tri-level residence just east of Redmond in King County Fire District 34, which contracts with the Redmond Fire Department. There were four heads in the living room where the couch was located on the middle level of his home. The fifth head that activated was at the top of the stairwell leading to the bedrooms, where some of the smoke and heat escaped the sprinklers below.
Mr. Burns had moved the house from a nearby lot a few blocks away. Since his driveway was long and too narrow for fire apparatus, the Inspector from the King County Fire Marshal’s Office, who assisted in reviewing Mr. Burns’ home, required the installation of a residential fire sprinkler system to meet the fire code. Mr. Burns reported that he looked for alternatives, including a deal he struck with a nearby private school to allow him to add a gate so the fire hydrant nearly 300 feet away from the house could be reached from his lot. The Inspector was firm about following the code and showed him numerous letters from others who were required to do the same and later experienced a fire. All of those letters were from people thanking the Fire Marshal’s Office for being tough. Fire sprinkler systems saved their homes and property from the devastation of fire, heat, and smoke damage.
Burns stated that the system cost over $6,000. Since he was on well water, he had to have a water tank on site. His tank held 350 gallons, which easily handled the fire. Burns promised that he would soon call the woman from the Fire Marshal’s Office and thank her. Burns said, “Crow is best eaten while it is still warm.” The cost of the system saved him thousands more dollars, since no one would have been home to report the fire, it would have burned until it broke out of the home’s exterior.
Eight emergency units (a total of 22 personnel) were initially dispatched, including Bellevue Fire Department’s Light Force (a ladder truck company accompanied by a fire engine). Most units were discontinued enroute once the fire was reported out on arrival of the fire department. The King County Fire Marshal has determined that an unattended, lighted candle on a table behind the couch caused the fire.
Article by Lt. Rob Torrey
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