Chief Paul J. Parisi and the Ipswich Fire Department are crediting a classic car storage facility’s working sprinkler system with saving hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of property Saturday.
On Saturday, June 25, at about noon, Firefighters Keith Carlson, Peter Nich and Jeff Stone were dispatched in Engine 4 to Clam Town Classics at 11 Old Right Road for a fire alarm activation with a water-flow alarm.
On arrival, they found heavy smoke coming from a unit housing a number of classic cars.
The source of the smoke was a 1972 Lamborghini, where a fire had started under the hood. Heat from the blaze had activated three sprinkler heads above the car, containing the fire to its point of origin. Ipswich Firefighters, assisted by Topsfield Firefighters, opened the hood and extinguished the rest of the flames, then ventilated the unit where the fire occurred. Wenham Firefighters, along with off duty and call Ipswich Firefighters, covered the vacant Ipswich station.
Chief Parisi credits crews with quick and decisive work and says the sprinkler system prevented what could have been a massive — and very costly — fire. A 1954 mint condition Cadillac, parked just a few yards away from the Lamborghini, was undamaged.
“Usually you only have one or two sprinkler heads activated. The fact that three sprinkler heads went off tells you just how much heat there was, yet the fire was contained only to the engine compartment,” Chief Parisi said. “The sprinkler system did just what it’s designed to do. Without it, the property loss would have been much more significant.”
Owner of Clam Town Classics, George Delaney, was impressed by the performance of a safety mechanism he previously had not thought much about.
“As a business owner watching the bottom line, I didn’t care too much for sprinklers.” Delaney said. “Now I’ve done a 180. After seeing the difference they make, I’m a big fan.”
Any residents or building owners who have questions about sprinkler systems should contact Ipswich Fire Prevention Officer Lt. Kendall Buhl by calling 978-356-6631 or by emailing: fireprev@ipswichfire.org.
For more information on fire prevention efforts in Ipswich, click here.
