The Berwyn Fire Company was dispatched at 2:35 a.m. to the 500 Chesterbrook Blvd. at the Chesterbrook Shopping Center in Tredyffrin Township for a water flow alarm. Berwyn EMS was also dispatched to a medical emergency in Tredyffrin Township at the same time.

Since there was no business name or specific point of activation provided by the alarm company, first responders had to go business to business to investigate the source of the alarm.

Firefighters located water in the walkway area near Manhattan Bagel and could hear a sprinkler activated. The crew of Engine 2-3 forced entry to the business and discovered a smoke condition inside with a burning odor. A fire was quickly located involving an electrical panel and towels at the back of the store.

The crew of Engine 2-3 secured the water flow to the sprinkler system and ensured the fire was extinguished. PECO later arrived and shut the power down to the rest of the business.

The Chester County Fire Marshal investigated and determined that the fire had started in an electrical panel. One sprinkler head was activated during the fire that was directly over where the fire began.

All units were clear of the scene by 5:57 a.m. The Manhatten Bagel will be able to open later this week with minimal business interruption. If not for a working fire sprinkler system the fire would have been much worse.

Quick facts from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):

> 90% of fires can be contained by the operation of just (1) sprinkler.
> Fire sprinklers save lives, reduce property loss, and cut insurance premiums.
> Risk of fire death is reduced by 82% with the combination of fire sprinklers and smoke alarms.

To watch a short video on how fire sprinklers work click on the following link from the Home Fire Safety Coalition at http://www.homefiresprinkler.org/Consumer/ConsWork.html . If you are interested in learning more about this topic visit the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) at http://www.nfpa.org and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov.

Photo: Eamon C. Brazunas, BFC Assistant Chief