Monsey, NY - Apartment Building Fire Saved By Sprinkler System

Monsey, NY - A grease fire that broke out in a three-family house at 24 Ralph Blvd. in Monsey Thursday afternoon, was extinguished by a sprinkler system before the family even knew.
The cabinets, the wall and the kitchen ceiling were all ablaze, but the sprinklers went off and saved the house, and saved the family, said Monsey Fire Chief Andrew Schlissel. "A baby was sleeping in the other room, and they didn't know there was a fire until the sprinklers and the smoke detector went off."

An update of the county fire codes in 2001 required such systems in structures that house three or more families. But, Schlissel said, the more stringent codes weren't yet in effect when 24 Ralph Blvd. was under construction. But the builder pushed for the system anyway, Schlissel said, and the reluctant owner eventually agreed.
"She's very glad," he said of the installation. "She could have lost the whole house."

County Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator Gordon Wren Jr. said the fires illustrated how a relatively modest cost could save lives. "In residential, it costs about as much as carpeting," Wren said of sprinkler systems.