More on home separation, lightweight construction & sprinklers. Watch 2004 NIST test & hear the views of a VA fire chief.

Previous coverage of Manassas fire, including fireground audio & arrival video

NIST fact sheet on house to house fire spread

Discarded cigarette causes Manassas fire

I have referred to these stories many times, but the video has not been available in recent years on the Internet. WUSA9.com’s Emily Cyr took care of that problem for us today. The videos from July, 2004 relate directly to the conflagration last Thursday in Manassas, Virginia. NIST discovered that the simple and relatively inexpensive idea of adding a fire barrier under vinyl siding makes a dramtic difference in preventing fire spread when single family homes are built with little space between the structures.

All the way at the bottom of this post is a 10-minute interview conducted on Saturday by WUSA9.com’s Surae Chinn with Loudoun County, Virginia’s Interim Fire Chief Keith Brower. Like City of Manassas Fire Marshal Frank Teevan, Chief Brower was always one of the  go-to guys when I was reporting and looking for an expert on fire safety issues. Chief Brower talks at length about how residential sprinklers and the lessons learned from the NIST testing can be the difference between one home burning and a neighborhood on fire.