MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Fire District was recently awarded a $1,000 stipend from the national nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition to help dispel Hollywood myths about home fire sprinkler technology. The stipend will be used toward placing HFSC public service announcements with local networks to reach almost 105,000 households in the Puget Sound region.

The comical PSAs spoof a movie set, where a burglar tries to clear a room full of people by setting off the fire sprinkler system. His antics fail when he finds that smoke will not set off a fire sprinkler, and that only the fire sprinkler above a fire will activate, not the entire system. The humor aims to entertain and educate at the same time.

With funding through a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant awarded by the Grant Programs Directorate of FEMA, HFSC selected Marysville Fire District and 49 other fire departments nationwide that participate in the “Built For Life” fire department program to receive the stipend. That program commits to making home fire sprinklers a focus of its public education efforts and advocacy.

“We are privileged to receive this generous stipend,” said Greg Corn, chief of the Marysville Fire District. “With the help of the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition’s public service announcements and educational materials, we can move forward with this important opportunity to teach our community about home fire sprinkler protection.”

For more information about home fire sprinklers, please visit the Marysville Fire District website at www.marysvillefiredistrict.org, or the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition website at www.homefiresprinkler.org.