By STEPHEN HUBA – Independent

MASSILLON, OH — A potential revolution in home fire suppression got its Stark County debut Wednesday in Massillon before an audience of area firefighters, building officials and contractors.

Live demonstrations of the “looped” residential fire sprinkler system were held at a new home being built in the Centennial Village allotment at 1263 Patriot Place S.W.

Although similar systems have been used in larger home construction, the looped system is more affordable because it is connected to a home’s potable cold-water plumbing.

“Lives can be saved dramatically by this type of system,” said Luke Grabill, president of Grabill Plumbing & Heating, which recently installed the system. “We think it’s a really good thing.”

Massillon fire prevention officer Capt. Jim Thieret, who attended the demonstration with other fire officials, cited statistics suggesting that such systems can improve survival rates by 97 percent. By comparison, a smoke detector improves survival by 50 percent, he said.

Thieret said such a system can be critical in the first few minutes of a house fire. “Within five to six minutes, fire can get out of one compartment, and you can lose the whole home,” he said. “If it gets out of that compartment and into the walls, the odds of saving the structure go down significantly.”

The looped system works by drawing on the home’s domestic water supply, eliminating the problem of stagnant water, Grabill said. It also does not require the installation of check valves or backflow preventers.

Because the system can be installed by a plumber, it is more affordable than a system that requires a dedicated line and a licensed installer, Grabill said.

Cost is determined by how many sprinkler heads constitute the system. In the Massillon demonstration home, the cost for labor and materials for a 30-head system came to $8,000, Grabill said.

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