Having a horrific tragedy befall your family changes your life in a profound way.
I lost my brother, my sister-in-law, and their four precious grandchildren, in a fire that was too hot and too fast to escape, in the pre-dawn hours of a January morning.
Since the accident I have been waking at 3:00 a.m. in dread that it is too late, and I cannot save my brother, my family.
It is too late. Every night I come to grips with that over and over again
– EVERY night, still…
At first I searched the internet, in the wee hours of the morning, to learn more about
fire, flashover, and fire safety advocacy groups; anything to feel I was doing something constructive.
Since then I have met with many fire experts and gained the guidance and power to share information that may save a life, keep another family from this suffering, or affect a change in residential fire sprinkler codes.
It is the only thing that gives me a sense of purpose in my whole life right now.
Fire is fast. It’s much faster than I ever imagined. Flashover – the point at which everything combustible in the room ignites and the room bursts into flames – can happen in less than three minutes. No one survives flashover. Understanding flashover has helped me realize that fire sprinklers buy time, and time buys life.
The one thing that might have made a difference for my family, could have been a home fire sprinkler system, which would have slowed the progress of the fire and possibly bought them time to get the children and follow their escape plan. It wasn’t in the residential building code when they built their home, but might have changed the outcome from this deadly nightmare.
I didn’t have the knowledge to save my priceless family, but I have it now, to save yours. Join with us and spread the message and support home fire sprinkler systems.