Three generations of the Balbini family died in a house fire

The publicity exercise was aimed at encouraging more homeowners and local authorities to install sprinklers to help cut down the number of fatal blazes.

Wrexham council fitted electric fire alarms to all its own properties in the wake of a fatal blaze which killed seven people in the mid Nineties.

Last autumn, in a separate incident, four members of the same family were killed in a house fire at Tumble, near Llanelli, south Wales.

Fire sprinkler safety:

Sprinklers cost approximately 1% of building costs, Firefighters are in less danger tackling blazes with sprinklers fitted, Systems operate directly from the mains and use small, barely noticeable pipe work

North Wales's chief fire officer Simon Smith said he wanted to "dispel the myths" surrounding sprinkler systems.

Mr Smith said he believed sprinklers could become as effective as the introduction of car safety belts 30 years ago to reduce fatalities.

"We are ahead of the game in Wales, with the National Assembly looking at new social housing being fitted with such systems," explained Mr Smith.

"We have found that although smoke alarm ownership in Wales is about 80%, only 30-40% of them are actually working.

"Smoke alarms are also only a warning device, which does not immediately help the old and infirm and those with physical problems if a fire breaks out.

Fire officer Simon Smith: Ahead of the game

"A residential sprinkler system takes out the need for a person to do anything."

Mr Smith added: "Sprinklers only come on in areas directly affected by the fire and they are not overly expensive," he said.

Wrexham County Council housing department has teamed up with North Wales Fire Service to press home the importance of fire safety.

In areas where sprinklers have become compulsory fittings, such as parts of the United States, fire deaths have been reduced to zero.

They operate automatically whether a person is in the house or not, adding another level of home protection, said a council spokesman.