Fire at Chesterfield Mall Lot Shows Importance of Sprinkler System

Saturday's Fire Safety Fair at Chesterfield Mall wowed the crowd with a demonstration of how time is so very important in fighting fires and saving lives.

A trailer outfitted with two identical bedrooms were set ablaze intentionally from a small fire started in a wastebasket, by St. Louis Fire Sprinkler Alliance. 

(See burning rooms in the photos here.)

After barely 20 seconds, sprinklers went off in the one room, and the fire was nearly out. The white walls of the room were not even blackened with smoke.

However, the other room without sprinklers reached 1,400 degrees after one minute 50 seconds and exploded in a fireball.

Spectators drew back even farther from the intense heat just before firefighters safely extinguished the burning room with fire hoses.

A different trailer was filled with billowing faux smoke—safe to inhale, and participants saw the importance of practicing escape routes from their homes, for example, in case of smoke and fire.

Other demonstrations included a bomb squad's robot used to dismantle potential explosives.

There was a misty sprinkler for the crowd to walk through during the sunny, hot day Saturday.

An ARCH rescue helicopter landed at the mall parking lot with its 3-person crew—a nurse, a paramedic and pilot. Such a crew works two days a week of 24 hours each.

There were many more child-centric activities that drew families to the fair. Free water, chips and grilled hot dogs were provided by Monarch Fire Protection District.

Monarch covers a large area, including all of Chesterfield and parts of Wildwood, Ballwin, Clarkson Valley, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights and unincorporated St. Louis County.