Harper to hold live fire demonstration

A fire that erupts in a home with no sprinkler system can burn for critical, life-changing minutes, reducing a room to flames and smoke before firefighters can make it to the scene. Sprinklers can extinguish the blaze quickly on their own, often before emergency crews arrive.

Harper College’s Fire Science Technology Department will stage a live, public demonstration of that difference, igniting a small fire in two outdoor, life-size room chambers — one with sprinklers installed, and one without.

The demo, a lesson for Harper’s fire science students and the community, will be staged at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, outside Buildings G and H on the east side of Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine.

The two chambers, erected side by side and furnished like living rooms, will be set ablaze and extinguished by Palatine firefighters in full gear. The public is encouraged to watch the fires unfold.

“Time is the biggest enemy in any fire, and demonstrations like this one are outstanding illustrations of the drastic difference that sprinkler systems can make,” said Sam Giordano, coordinator of Harper’s Fire Science Technology department. “It’s vital for our students to see this demonstration, and it’s equally important for local residents to see it and to understand the importance of sprinkler systems.”

Sprinklers are mandated for new homes in some suburbs, but plenty of others have no such rule, Giordano said.

Each year, more than 4,000 Americans die and 20,000 are injured in fires — with the vast majority of fatal fires occurring in private homes.

For information on the demonstration or Harper’s Fire Science program, call (847) 925-6379.