Fire Services receives $750 for home fire sprinkler program

Newton County Fire Services received a $750 stipend from the national nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) to increase awareness about the dangers of home fires and the life-saving benefits of home fire sprinklers.

The stipend will fund an event on Saturday, May 18, during Home Fire Sprinkler Week at Newton County Fire Station 8 at 2345 Gum Creek Road in Oxford. Bring the entire family and tour the station, touch a truck, and learn about fire safety. Free smoke alarms with installation will be scheduled at the event as well.

With the National Fire Protection Association Fire Sprinkler Initiative, HFSC co-sponsors Home Fire Sprinkler Week, an educational program carried out annually in the U.S. and Canada. The Week unites the fire service in the effort to increase awareness of home fire dangers to civilians and responders and facts about installing fire sprinklers in new homes.

"Every community needs the facts about home fire sprinklers, including Newton County. We are honored to have been selected for this generous stipend," said James Franklin, Fire Safety Educator of Newton County Fire Services. "Using the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition's educational materials, we will raise awareness of how quickly a home fire can become deadly and the life-saving impact of installing home fire sprinklers."

According to HFSC:

• Without sprinklers, today's home fires become deadly in as little as two minutes.
• These fires put residents and firefighters at risk from toxic smoke, heat and flames.
• With sprinklers, in a home fire the sprinkler closest to the fire will activate when the temperature reaches about 165F.
• The sprinkler will spray water directly on the fire, controlling or putting it out. In most home fires just one sprinkler activates.

The HFSC Stipend Program is funded through a grant from State Farm.

For more information about home fire sprinklers, please visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition website at www.homefiresprinkler.org.