Political Quotes

“I rise to introduce the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act. I am pleased to be joined by my colleague from Delaware, Senator Carper, in introducing this bipartisan bill. In the United States, the annual cost of fires is enormous. In 2015, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fires resulted in approximately $14 billion in direct property loss. In addition, more than 3,000 civilians were killed and more than 15,000 people were injured in fires. The NFPA also reports that a fire department responded to a structure fire every 63 seconds. These statistics are of particular concern in Maine, which has some of the oldest housing stock in the country and which has experienced deadly apartment building fires. In 2014, an apartment fire resulted in the deaths of six people--Maine's deadliest fire in nearly four decades. Historically, Maine has also seen commercial property damaged by fires. In fact, much of the construction in the historic areas of Portland was done following a devastating fire in 1866. This fire destroyed a third of the city, including most of Portland's commercial buildings, many of its churches, and countless homes. The NFPA reports that when fire sprinklers are present during a large fire, they are effective 96 percent of the time, saving billions of dollars in property damage but more importantly, thousands of lives. Our bill would encourage commercial building owners to invest in fire safety upgrades.…”