Fire Safety Week sparks interest in fire prevention

NORTH PALM BEACH, FLA -   Where there's smoke there's fire. For the men and women of North Palm Beach Fire Rescue, that means it's time to get to work.

"That's when we decided to knock it down, and put the water on it to knock it out," said Lt. Andrew Lezza with North Palm Beach Fire Rescue.

Saturday was North Palm's annual fire safety fair. Firefighters welcomed the public with events and demonstrations.

However it wasn't all fun and games. Crowds stood in awe, as two rooms were set ablaze, demonstrating how quickly a fire can overtake a home, and how effective in-home fire sprinklers can be by keeping your life, from going up in smoke.

"The one to the left had a sprinkler in it. Within two minutes, the sprinkler activated, everything was out, and everybody would have been safe," said Lezza.

North Palm Beach Fire Rescue wants more people to take preventative steps to avoid a fire, and the complete devastation of the sprinkler-less model, shows what a difference planning ahead can make.

"We want to keep everybody safe. The best thing we can do is help you in preventing fires to keep you safe. We'd rather not have to put out a fire at your house, we'd rather help you prevent it," said North Palm Beach Fire Chief J.D. Armstrong.