Apartment Building, Residential

Fire sprinklers and working smoke alarms save child playing with matches (Salisbury, MD)

Fire crews were called to a two-story five unit apartment building just before 8:30 a.m. for a report of a fire. When firefighters arrived they found the fire was already extinguished in the four-year-old child’s bedroom. Fire Marshals investigating the scene concluded that the child had been playing with matches and set a bed on fire. Working smoke alarms alerted the parents to the blaze and they were able to escape with the child and warn neighbors. A sprinkler in the child’s bedroom put out the fire.

“This is yet another example of the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinklers in residential occupancies. The presence of not only sprinklers but working smoke alarms and a home escape plan undoubtedly prevented a more tragic outcome” stated William E. Barnard, Maryland State Fire Marshal.