Advocate urges New Castle County to consider residential fire sprinklers after recent fatalities and saves

Paul Eichler, chairman of the Delaware Fire Sprinkler Coalition, told the New Castle County Public Safety Committee on March 11 that residential fire sprinklers can save lives and reduce property loss, citing recent local fatalities and several recent “sprinkler saves.”

Eichler said the state has seen double-digit fire-fatality years and that, in the past two calendar years, Delaware recorded three fire fatalities — two in New Castle County and one in Kent County — with recent serious injuries in Brandywine Hundred and Ogletown. “I come here today coming off of 2 calendar years of double digit fire fatalities in the state,” Eichler said.

The council’s discussion focused on multiple points Eichler raised: life-safety benefits of small, room-level sprinklers, examples of minimal damage where sprinklers activated, disputed cost estimates offered by builders, insurance premium discounts and concerns about water damage and system maintenance. Eichler described two recent “sprinkler saves” in the Darley Green neighborhood in Claymont and a sprinkler activation in an apartment building in Middletown that he said limited damage and allowed…