It was a house fire that many of us will never forget. The Honolulu Fire Department Captain who provided information on Oahu fires for years was now a victim himself. That was nine months ago and Richard Soo has since rebuilt his life and home with more protection.
Soo responded to thousands of fires during his 27-year career with the HFD. But on August 2, 2011, some eight years after retirement, Soo found himself in a foreign role.
"When I came up this road to my house and I saw what was going on that my house was on fire it was just really a moving moment," said Soo. It was a moving moment that still stirs strong emotion.
"When you first come to the scene, this was my scene now, not a fire scene I was covering. And I was looking for my kids. Did my two boys survive this fire?"
His sons were fine but his home was destroyed. Damage was estimated at $300,000. The cause of the fire was unattended food on a stove.
"The stove was right here and a pot of mash potatoes was left on," said Soo. "When I heard what they experienced that they had to literally come from the lower bedrooms and pass the kitchen which was completely involved in the fire, it made me as a parent re-think what can you do to make sure this never happens again."
The former fire captain’s 3-bedroom home is being rebuilt with added protection.
"It’s fully protected every floor has a sprinkler," said Soo.
Soo invested in a residential sprinkler system with more than 30 sprinkler heads. The cost may surprise you.
"I found out that the cost is not that much, it’s around $6,000 to $10,000.
Soo expects a 5-to-10 percent savings on his homeowners insurance. The system took two weeks to install and can be done at anytime on any home.
"I could have probably on August 2 continued to live here if I had a sprinkler system," said Soo.
"Here’s what it will look like when we’re looking at from the floor," said Battalion Chief Socrates Bratakos.
If there’s a fire and heat reaches 135 degrees the cap drops off.
"When it reaches a 150 degrees that fusible link will break activating the sprinkler head," said Bratakos. "Only the head that’s needed goes off."
Which minimizes water use and water damage and ultimately saves lives.
"A fire a sprinkler is going to save your family’s lives and belongings and I can’t tell you how much that’s worth – that’s priceless," said Bratakos.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
