Something will happen in Pulrose later this morning which you don't see very often!

Fire fighters will enter numbers five and seven, Hazel Crescent and deliberately ignite quantities of combustable materials, in the downstairs living rooms of the two properties.

Fortunately, the houses are due for demolition in the next couple of weeks, and have been donated by Douglas Borough Council for what amounts to an interesting experiment.

The aim is to show how effective sprinklers can be in slowing the spread of a fire, and this will be done by operating a sprinkler system in one of the properties, while leaving the other one to burn.

At present, fewer than one per cent of homes in the Island have sprinkler systems, and the Fire Service hopes to encourage more people to get them installed.

Standing in the living room of number seven, which can expect a tougher time once ignition has taken place, assistant divisional officer John Murtagh told Graham Bell more about the demonstration (extended audio file):

There will be more on that story in today's Mandate PM.