Two Historic Philadelphia Buildings, Two Different Outcomes
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral this past spring has caused many across the globe to consider fire sprinklers as a means of preservation in historic buildings. With its numerous historic buildings, many property owners in Philadelphia had their buildings retrofitted with sprinklers years ago, but there are many more who have not taken advantage of this key lifesaving and property saving device.
The owners of Christ Church in Philadelphia decided years ago to retrofit the entire building with sprinklers after a lightning strike set the steeple on fire. The fire sprinkler system installed included sprinklers inside the building and outside on the steeple. This system has kept the church protected for nearly 20 years now, and its external portion was recently successfully tested in front of an audience. While the owners of Christ Church reacted proactively to the threat of a fire, still many more property owners throughout the city have overlooked or are unaware of fire sprinklers, leaving much of Philadelphia's historic buildings under threat.
Recently, this threat has been fully realized with the catastrophic fire at Greater Bible Way Temple. This historic structure, built over 115 years ago, had been a landmark and place of worship for many in the Parkside neighborhood of West Philadelphia. The blaze started at 3 p.m. and was fully under control three hours later. Luckily, there were no fatalities, though the Philadelphia Fire Department reported that an occupant from an adjacent building was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Even with the quick response time and heroic actions of the Philadelphia Fire Department, the fire had spread too fast, and the building had taken on massive amounts of damage.
The NFSA PenJerDel Chapter offers its condolences to those who lost their historic place of worship in this fire. All fires are preventable, and hopefully this loss will inspire those who have not yet retrofitted their properties with fire sprinklers. Philadelphia is the cradle of the nation, and preservation should be critical for the city. While there are many owners who have taken the initiative and protected their properties, the city does not mandate sprinklers in all historic buildings. These buildings are unique and hold so much history in their walls, and they're not preserved unless they're protected.
The National Fire Sprinkler Association advocates for the widespread acceptance of the fire sprinkler concept in all buildings, including historic ones like the Greater Bible Way Temple. It is the Association's hope that fires like these become a thing of the past in order to secure these historic properties for future generations. For more information on the NFSA's mission, call 866-226-6006 or visit saveandprotect.org.
SOURCE NFSA PenJerDel Chapter
