The Minnesota Chapter’s side-by-side sprinkler demonstration trailer received several notable upgrades over the past several weeks, including new signage, heating elements, and pipe insulation on all sprinkler piping. The improvements were rolled out to the public for the first time at the February 11th Fire Team NFSA High-Rise Fire Life Safety Summit in Minneapolis.

The trailer’s new signage includes updated logos from our state and national partners, a listing of all Chapter Contractor and SAM members, and links to the Minnesota Chapter’s webpage and the NFSA’s “firesprinklersbuylife” website. A “Sprinkler Myth/Sprinkler Fact” display and a fire propagation timeline were also added to help with educational messaging to the public. Finally, we added a visual “shout out” to Rainbow International, our contracted trailer restoration company. The new signs are larger and more appealing than the previous versions, and the identities of our Chapter members are far more prominent in the upgraded version.

State NFSA staff also installed heating elements and pipe insulation on the trailer’s sprinkler piping to ensure there would be no “freeze ups” during cold weather operations. In 2019, the Chapter conducted three demonstration burns when temperatures were below freezing, and the February 11th demonstration was scheduled to take place when forecasted temperatures were right at the freezing point. The new improvements ensured free-flowing water for the High-Rise Summit burn; we witnessed sprinkler activation just 24 seconds after ignition in the Chapter’s first-ever mid-winter burn!

Future improvements planned for the Chapter’s trailer include readouts to indicate interior ceiling and floor temperatures in each side of the trailer and an electric jack to improve safety and convenience when setting up and taking down demonstration burns.