Fire district revs up sprinkler campaign Fire district revs up sprinkler campaign (January 12, 2005)

** Officials say sprinklers might have prevented death and severe injury in Atherton fire.

By Renee Batti

Almanac News Editor

The death of an Atherton man and serious injury of his wife resulting from a Christmas Eve house fire might well have been prevented if the house had been equipped with automatic fire sprinklers, Menlo Park fire officials have concluded.

As a result, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District has stepped up its campaign to persuade Menlo Park and Atherton to adopt an ordinance it proposed in 2003 requiring sprinklers in all new homes of 1,000 square feet and larger, and in many remodels.

In letters sent out last week to council members of both towns, the fire district board cites an East Palo Alto Christmas fire that killed two children in 2002, the recent Atherton fire, and several other recent destructive house fires in the Bay Area, and concludes, "In all these incidents, sprinkler systems would have made a significant difference."

Fire Chief Paul Wilson told the Almanac last week that had there been a sprinkler head in the bedroom of Julian Pichel, 80, when the fire broke out in that room the night of December 24, it would have been activated quickly by the hot, fast-rising gases from the fire and may have prevented Mr. Pichel's death.

He added that it also would have reduced the "superheated gas and the smoke it created," preventing the serious injury caused by inhalation to Mr. Pichel's wife, Cecile Henschel.

"An automated sprinkler head would have reduced the temperature and smoke to a survivable level," Chief Wilson said.

Originally listed in critical condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Ms. Henschel, 79, is now doing considerably better, and her condition was recently upgraded, according to a nurse in the hospital's coronary care unit.
Special meeting

Spurred by the fatal Atherton blaze, fire district board President Bart Spencer called a special board meeting on January 6 to hear a report by fire investigators and to discuss what the district might do to encourage Atherton and Menlo Park to enact its proposed sprinkler ordinance, which the Menlo Park City Council rejected in June.

The Atherton City Council, although originally endorsing the ordinance, reviewed the issue in light of Menlo Park's decision before taking final action, and ultimately approved a scaled-down ordinance requiring sprinklers in new houses and basements, but not in remodeled houses.

At last week's special meeting, the district board approved letters to the councils. In them, the board offered to work with the towns to provide more documentation to support a sprinkler ordinance, and said, "The most compelling point should be not to have a repeat of the Christmas Eve tragedies in future years."

The letter to Atherton officials urged the council to add to the scaled-down sprinkler ordinance it approved in September to include remodeled houses.

In its letter to Menlo Park, the board lists area towns that have sprinkler ordinances in place, including East Palo Alto, Woodside and Portola Valley, and asks the council to reverse its position opposing such an ordinance.

Mr. Spencer and board member Peter Carpenter met after the meeting with new Menlo Park council member Kelly Fergusson to discuss the matter and to urge her to convince her fellow council members to take another look at the proposed ordinance.

But it could be an uphill battle should she agree. The council rejected the proposal on a 3-1 vote, with Paul Collacchi absent. Chuck Kinney supported the ordinance, but he and Mr. Collacchi are no longer on the council.

Their replacements, Ms. Fergusson and Andy Cohen, have yet to say whether they would support the recommended ordinance. And even if they did, they would have to convince one of the three council members who rejected the ordinance in June to change positions.

After meeting with the fire board members, Ms. Fergusson told the Almanac that she is "coming up to speed on the issue" of fire sprinklers. She said she doesn't have any immediate plans to request that the issue be placed on the council agenda, but said she would welcome another council discussion at some point.

"The level of awareness of what can happen in a residential fire has really been brought home by this terrible tragedy," she said.
Cause of fire

The district released its findings on the cause of the Atherton fire during the special meeting last week. Fire investigators Bob Blach and Jon Johnston's report confirmed initial findings that the fire originated near the free-standing wood stove in the couple's master bedroom.

Statements from Ms. Henschel and a care-giver who tried to rescue Mr. Pichel indicated that Mr. Pichel's clothing caught fire when he tried to light a fire in the stove.

The investigators' report stated that "there were no accidental ignition sources inside the wood stove." During the meeting, Mr. Blach said the wood stove had been properly installed.

Earlier media reports indicated that Mr. Pichel may have used lighter fluid to start the fire. But the investigators' report noted that "a plastic container of lighter fluid was found adjacent to the wood stove on the ... corner of the brick hearth. The cap on the lighter fluid was closed."

Reporter Rebecca Wallace contributed to this report.

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