A fiery start to Fire Prevention Week

A Columbia Fire Explorer puts out a room burn as part of Sunday's Fire Prevention Week kickoff event.

COLUMBIA -- Hundreds of onlookers were treated to a room burn Sunday as the Columbia Fire Department kicked off National Fire Prevention Week.

Firefighters set two room mockups ablaze, one equipped with a sprinkler system, to show how smoke detectors and sprinklers work. Fire marshal Brad Fraizer said Sunday's event was the first time the department has ever hosted a special event to start the week.

"Fire Prevention Week is a great opportunity for the fire department and the community to focus on fire safety, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to increase community awareness about fire safety," he said.

Columbia resident Neil Vaughn said he is considering getting a sprinkler system after watching Sunday's demonstration.

"Definitely saved everything in there, barring the water damage, but everything could be wiped off and restored versus burned to a crisp," he said.

Fraizer said the department was giving away 500 free smoke detectors as part of Sunday's event.

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A fiery start to Fire Prevention Week