Two years after the Camas City Council started requiring automatic fire sprinkler systems be installed in new homes, the Camas-Washougal Fire Marshal is advocating that Washougal councilors approve a similar ordinance.
Fire Marshal Ron Schumacher said four Camas homes have been saved by the activation of sprinkler systems with minimal damage.
“There was some minor smoke and fire damage, and there was some water damage as well,” he said.
Camas-Washougal Deputy Fire Marshal Randy Miller said sprinkler systems helped firefighters control those four Camas house fires very early, keeping damage to the homes and to the homeowners’ possessions at a minimum.
In those incidents, Miller said firefighters shut off the water, set up exhaust fans to clear smoke from the house and “squeegeed a little water out the front door.”