National Fire Prevention Month

October is National Fire Prevention Month.

Consider getting your business retrofitted with a fire sprinkler system because fire sprinklers obviously save lives.

And you can also take advantage of the new tax incentives.

So joining us today are Shane Ray, the president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, and chief Ron Siarnicki, the executive director of the fallen firefighters foundation.

Will be affecting ... kentucky, whether in the next few days ... fire prevention month.

Consider getting your business retrofitted with a fire sprinkler system because fire sprinklers obviously save lives.

And you can also take advantage of the new tax incentives.

So joining us today are shane ray, the president of the national fire sprinkler association, and chief ron siarnicki, the executive director of the fallen firefighters foundation.

Welcome to the show, gentlemen.

Ron siarnicki: thank you for having us here today.

Interviewer: well, thank you for being here and this is such an important cause, too.

But first and foremost, let's get right to it.

We didn't realize that there were fire sprinkler incentives included in the tax cuts and the jobs act and the cares act.

Can you explain to us how these work and who exactly is eligible?

Shane ray: yes.

It's a benefit for small business and large corporations to retrofit their business with fire sprinklers.

And it's the first time ever.

So instead of 39 year depreciation on your taxes, which is what existed prior to this legislation, you can now fully depreciate it in one year if you're a small business, or you can depreciate it, accelerated depreciation, over the course of 10 years if you're a corporation.

Interviewer: nice.

Now, how do the fire sprinkler incentives connect to and help america's firefighters?

Ron siarnicki: there's a direct connection, and we appreciate the opportunity to be in here on good day kentucky and talking a little bit about this and the partnership between the national fire sprinkler association, the national fallen firefighters foundation, and common voices, as we advocate for fire safety.

Having these technologies, working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, sprinkler systems in your homes, in your businesses, in your structures makes it safer, not only for the occupants, but for firefighters in that if a fire was to occur, those systems would make sure that everybody is alerted and given safe travel to the exterior of that building.

And that, when firefighters arrive, is a critical piece in knowing that everyone is out safely.

And it reduces the hazards to firefighters.

They're going to respond.

They're going to do what they need to do to extinguish the fire.

But if they know that people were all outside the structure and there is no life safety involved, then they can take a methodical process, a safer process to extinguish that fire and render the situation safe.

Interviewer: absolutely.

Now, what does the nfsa hope to accomplish by working with nonprofits like common voices and the national fallen firefighters foundation?

Shane ray: well, we want to get the word out.

We want to show the effectiveness of fire sprinklers.

We've conducted a demonstration to show you that effectiveness of fire sprinklers and how fast they operate.

They don't all go off.

So unlike as you can see in the demonstration here, that the fire has to be significant and only the one closest to the fire is going to activate.

They do not all go off like some hollywood movies would portray.

Only the one closest to the fire activates.

It makes it safer.

And as chief siarnicki said, it gives the occupants time to get out and it gives the firefighters time to arrive.

If you don't have fire sprinklers, it's a much different scenario.

And so modern methods of construction and modern materials, modern furnishings in our home, as you can see here, it is a much different scenario.

The smoke and fire will fill up a large house, a large business, a small, it doesn't matter.

Fire doesn't discriminate.

And it impacts our firefighters greatly if they're exposed to those materials.

And that's what fire sprinklers do is smoke alarms, fire sprinklers, and firefighters.

So that's the key to success.

And that's what our partnership shows the effectiveness of all those working.

Interviewer: and you're trying to get the word out about these incentives.

Where can people go for more information?

Ron siarnicki: there's a variety of ways to go.

You can go to nfsa.org, which is the fire sprinkler association's website.

You can go to fireadvocate.org, which is for common voices.

Or firehero.org, which is the national fallen firefighter foundation website.

All of those sites are interconnected.

They provide tips on fire safety.

They provide information on these wonderful technologies that are life-saving and critical, critical elements in our structures and in our homes.

It's a great way to make it fire safe and make your home fire safe.

Interviewer: absolutely.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for all that you do, and thank you for being with us today.

Shane