The fire company is right next door. We have nothing to worry about.

People's perception of fire is not usually consistent with reality. 

What do I mean by that?

Simply put. People don't understand fire. 

Through the years, many times I have heard people say things along the lines of.... "The (volunteer) fire station is just down the street. If we have a fire, they will be here before the fire gets out of control."

Or

"We have employees here from 6 AM until 10 PM. If anything happens, they'll call the fire department right away!"

Or

"The building is all concrete and metal. There's nothing to burn!"

This blog post came to me today, as I was walking past a (soon to be developed) lot on the SW corner of 3rd & Market Streets in Philadelphia. There used to be a building there. It burned down two years ago, this coming April. 

My point?

There is a fire house less than two blocks away. And another one less than one mile away. Both staffed with full time fire fighting crews. The building burned down on a Wednesday; mid morning. When the building was occupied by employees, and the streets were full of passers by. 

Proximity to a firehouse (paid company or volunteer), time of day, and occupancy load have zero bearing on your home, or your place of employment, being safe from the devastation that a fire can bring. 

ZERO. 

So again, I say that people's perception of fire is not usually consistent with reality. 

Fires can burn quietly, sometimes for hours, before they are discovered. Fires can move lightening fast when conditions allow them to. Fire is a relentless beast. 

Once they start, the only way you are going to stop them is to put water on them. 

If this building at 300 Market Street had a fire sprinkler system, it would still be standing today. And the business that was there wouldn't have missed much of a beat. 

A fire sprinkler system is designed to control a fire during its incipient phase, it's beginning phase, before it can gain momentum. More often than not, the fire is not only controlled by the sprinkler system; it is suppressed....put out by the sprinkler system. Most fires only get hot enough to operate two fire sprinklers. Two sprinkler can control a fire that may otherwise turn into an inferno. 

When a fire starts, it's too late to "wish" you had fire sprinklers. 

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