By LORRAINE CARLI

The recent fire in Westminster reported to be caused by a flaming candle dramatically makes several key points that should be learning experiences for all of us concerned about the threat of fire to our homes.

First, as illustrated in this case, working smoke alarms save lives. The family was alerted to the fire and able safely to escape the blaze that severely damaged its home. Everyone should ensure that they have and maintain enough smoke alarms to provide an early warning to fires.

Second, you need water to put out fires. The 30,000-gallon cistern installed in this development provided firefighters with enough water to extinguish the fire when they arrived. However, there is another option that should be considered in new developments—– home residential sprinklers. Home residential sprinklers, growing in usage all across the country, can often extinguish a home fire before the firefighters arrive, significantly reducing the loss of life and property. In fact when sprinklers are present, the chances of dying in a fire are reduced by one-half to three-fourths and the average property loss per fire is cut by one-half to two-thirds, compared to fires where sprinklers are not present. Sprinklers typically reduce the chances of dying in a home fire by one-half to two-thirds in any kind of property where they are used.

Together with smoke alarms, sprinklers cut the risk of dying in a home fire 82 percent, relative to having neither.

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