I just discovered a study by the Boston Globe, which shows how often fire
companies get to a fire within 6 minutes. This is important because it is around
that time when a burning house "gets so hot that walls and furniture
spontaneously ignite." http://www.boston.com/fires After that point people are
burned and firefighters get hurt.

The first column below shows how often local fire companies reached the fire in
6 minutes. The 2nd column shows how many fires were in the database from
1986-2002.

28% 105 Friendship (Harpers Ferry)
27% 262 Independent (Ranson)
25% 270 Citizens (Charles Town)
17% 192 Blue Ridge
12% 221 Shepherdstown

97% 555 Martinsburg
46% 59 Sharpsburg
44% 66 Purcellville
43% 113 Brunswick
41% 230 Baker Heights
40% 438 South Berkeley

Harpers Ferry had the best times getting to fires, but still they reached barely
a quarter of fires within 6 minutes. On the other hand Martinsburg and other
nearby companies did better, with better budgets.

The Globe also says, "It has always been true that a fire doubles in size
roughly every minute, so long as it has oxygen, fuel, and heat. But many of
today's fires burn hotter because the tight, energy-efficient construction that
keeps out cold in the winter also keeps heat in during a fire. Newer roofs are
collapsing faster because the prefabricated truss, the rigid framework that
holds up the roof, separates easily into kindling during a fire. And modern
furnishings generally burn faster.

"In the 1970s, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology found that after a fire breaks out, people have about 17
minutes to escape before being overcome by heat and smoke. Today, the
estimate is 3 minutes."

So don't pick up anything. Just get your family out.

The Globe provided data for over 20,000 local fire departments, and has some
great articles on that website.

We all know our blessed volunteers are great and deserve both our
everlasting gratitude and our money. Send them a check now (addresses
below).

And this is county budget season, so tell the County Commissioners that fire
companies need vastly more support so they can respond faster and save lives and
property.

The Globe's figures show that fires with slower responses, over 6
minutes, seem to average about $30,000 more property damage than fires
with quicker response.

So the 824 fires in Jefferson County with responses over 6 minutes, cost us over
a million dollars per year in extra property damage, because we didn't have
enough support to help the fire companies get to the fires fast.

Send another check:
#1. Harpers Ferry/Bolivar (Friendship), PO Box 126, Harpers Ferry WV
25425
#2. Charles Town (Citizens), PO Box 927, Charles Town WV 25414
#3. Shepherdstown, PO Box F, Shepherdstown WV 25443.
#4. Ranson (Independent), PO Box 925, Ranson WV 25438
#5. Blue Ridge Mountain, Rt 1, Box 790, Harpers Ferry WV 25425

The Boston Globe used federal data on over 20,000 fire companies. The
numbers have been collected for 20 years, but apparently have never been
analyzed nationally before. Fortunately our local companies are all in the
database.

Among the 404 WV fire companies with over 20 fires reported, Martinsburg was
ranked 10 and Harpers Ferry was ranked 262.