Fire sprinkler averts major damage in New York State liquor store
A single sprinkler head is credited with saving millions of dollars of building and inventory damage from a fire in a liquor store situated in a large strip plaza in New York State.
According to Chief Carl O. Fischer, Jr., public information officer of the Main-Transit Fire Department in Amherst, New York, the department responded to a reported structure fire at the Georgetown Liquor Store in December 1998. The fire was reported by two employees who saw smoke and fire in an office.
An employee had used a dry chemical extinguisher at the same time as the fire sprinkler activated. Thick, acrid smoke quickly filled the liquor store, but the fire was extinguished and contained to the office area. The cause of the fire was determined to be a cigarette that was carelessly discarded in the office garbage container. The fire then spread to a wooden countertop, an upholstered office chair, and cabinets. Damages incurred were $1,000 to the building and $3,000 for contents. The sprinkler system was protecting more than $1.5 million worth of construction and inventory. n
