Residential Fire Sprinklers .com

Protecting Your Home & Family

By Rick Casey – Houston Chronicle

The city of West University Place is hot under the collar over an amendment slipped into an innocuous bill on plumbing standards during the last days of the Legislature.

The amendment prohibits municipalities from requiring fire protection sprinkler systems in any single-family home or duplex.

The law would not take effect until Sept. 1, but it retroactively voids all local ordinances passed since Jan. 1, including one that West U. passed last month mandating sprinkler systems in all new homes.

The amendment was attached to a Senate bill by Rep. John Otto of Dayton, a small town northeast of Houston, who had failed to get his own bill on the subject to the House floor.

West U. Mayor Bob Kelly this week sent Gov. Rick Perry a letter asking him to veto the bill.

Mayor Kelly told the governor the issue wasn’t so much the ordinance itself, but the “assault on local control.”

Dayton is in a rural area “with entirely different dynamics than our urban community,” Kelly wrote. He said West U. building codes should not be made in Otto’s Liberty County.

“Local control has always been a fundamental tenet of your philosophy of government,” the mayor wrote the governor. “The amended Senate Bill 1410 attacks that philosophy. We strongly urge your veto.”

This puts Perry in an interesting position.

As his strong support of “states’ rights” indicates, he does favor local control.

But Perry also favors homebuilders, who average more than $200,000 a year in contributions to him.

Homebuilders don’t like the sprinkler requirement and lobbied for Otto’s bill.

They argue that the requirement prices low-income buyers out of the housing market, and that home buyers should be free to choose whether they want the system.

The arguments may make some sense in places like Dayton, where land is cheap and many houses are small.

But neither is the case in West University Place. A check of www.har.com, the Web site carrying listings by the Houston Association of Realtors, shows 17 vacant lots for sale in West U.

The cheapest one, 50 by 100 feet, is $300,000. The median one, not much larger, is $579,000.

The cheapest new house is listed at $850,000. Almost all the new ones are considerably more.

West U. Fire Chief Steve Ralls said he checked with installers, and state-of-the-art fire systems cost between $1 and $2 per square foot. So that would add at most $10,000 to a 5,000-square-foot house selling at more than $1 million. That’s not a big hit to the mortgage payments, and Ralls noted that insurers discount rates for homes with such systems.

Ralls said safety considerations are more important, especially in West U. where the huge new houses stand as little as 6 feet from neighboring houses.

A fire not only threatens the homeowner, but neighbors on both sides.

And, of course, fires endanger firefighters, which is why firefighters from around the state are letting the governor know how they feel about this bill.

Perry could express concern about vetoing the underlying bill to which the amendment is attached. But its author, Sen. Mike Jackson of Pasadena, says passage of the bill is not exactly an emergency. It mainly updates training criteria for various categories of plumbers.

So the governor is on the hot seat.

To read the full article click here.

Part 1 of a five part series focusing on the rapidly growing residential fire sprinkler market and why plumbing contractors are best positioned to capture this opportunity.

On September 21, 2008 the International Code Council (ICC) adopted amendment RB64-07/08 to the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC). This amendment mandates that beginning January 1, 2011 all new one and two family residential dwellings along with townhomes be equipped with fire sprinklers. Although the amended model code must ultimately be adopted at the state and local level, it is undisputable that the use of fire sprinklers for front line fire protection in residential structures will accelerate at a rate never before experienced. The timeline from now to the widespread adoption of the code is subject to debate, but given the fact that nationally over 400 local jurisdictions already have some level of single family sprinkler requirements in place, the momentum for mandatory residential fire sprinklers will certainly advance.

There is also no question that the passage of RB64-07/08 will accelerate the adoption of local residential requirements before 2011. The first comprehensive residential ordinance was adopted by the city of San Clemente, California 30 years ago. The growth of the single family residential fire sprinkler industry after that time was slow, but steady, with a noticeable increase in the last decade. Each ordinance was typically sponsored by local fire prevention officials and faced well financed opposition from the home builders lobby. However, with the most widely used model code in the world slated to require the installation of fire sprinklers in single family houses, the path for the adoption of a local residential ordinance now has the backing of the national code making community.

It is predicted by many in the industry that the number of communities specifying residential fire sprinklers in single family homes could double ahead of the IRC mandate in 2011. There is no doubt that strong opposition remains, but the passage of RB64-07/08 will make it difficult for jurisdictions to “amend” the requirement out of the code when it is adopted. The liability is high and public officials have little appetite for the potential risk that will come with the first fire death that occurs in an unsprinklered home that otherwise would have been protected as required in the IRC. As a result of these factors and the clear groundswell of support, the resolve of those opposed to residential fire sprinklers is weakening. Many home builders are now turning their attention to the task of how best to incorporate fire sprinklers into their marketing strategies and construction practices.

The impact on the fire protection industry will be profound. Using the number of housing starts and residential fire sprinklers sold for 2007, the current market size for sprinklered single family homes is placed between $90 and 100 million annually. The numbers are certainly noteworthy, but miniscule compared with the market potential. Based on HUD data, the 40 year average (through 2007) of single family houses built is 1.169 million units a year. The average size of a single family home constructed in 2007 was 2479 ft². When coupled with a conservative national installation cost of $1.00 per ft², the market value is a staggering $2.9 billion. When measured in terms of sprinklers, it is estimated that when the requirement is fully implemented, over 29 million fire sprinklers will be installed annually in single family homes.

The impact on the existing market size is huge. Up until the last few decades, fire protection requirements have been centered on property protection in commercial buildings. With the introduction of fast response fire sprinklers in the 1980’s, requirements have been extended to multi-unit residential occupancies, with a particular focus towards multi-story buildings. As a result of the small market, single family residential fire sprinklers have typically been the domain of a few specialized contractors.

The coming mandate for residential fire sprinklers in single family homes will change the look of the industry. Once the 2009 IRC is implemented, residential fire sprinklers will account for nearly half the fire sprinkler market. There are simply not enough qualified contractors, design technicians, and installers to meet the coming demand. The opportunity for growing your business is enormous and those contractors who are prepared have that once in a lifetime chance to transform their business. The numbers of contractors specializing in residential fire sprinklers must expand. The market will demand it and it is clear that plumbing contractors are in the best position to absorb this growth. Don’t procrastinate on investigating this opportunity. It is too good to ignore.

In Part 2 of this series, “Plumbing Contractors Needed for Residential Fire Sprinkler Work”, Russ Leavitt will discuss how a labor shortage in the fire sprinkler industry creates a critical need for plumbing labor, including an overview of the common “barriers to entry” that plumbing contractors need to consider when preparing to provide residential fire sprinkler services.

Russ Leavitt is a Fire Smarts Faculty member and CEO of Telgian Corporation. With over 27 years of experience he holds a Level IV certification from NICET in Fire Sprinkler Layout and a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) designation. He serves on the NFPA 13 correlating committee, NFPA 25 technical committee and NFPA 5000 (building code) correlating committee.

Citing the fact that more than 90 percent of fireground firefighter deaths occur in one- and two-family homes, leading fire service organizations warned against state-by-state legislative efforts, orchestrated by homebuilders, which are designed to prohibit communities from requiring residential fire sprinklers in new home construction. Fire service groups are reiterating their strong support for sprinklers in the wake of several legislative attempts across the country.

“Anti-sprinkler proponents are attempting to deny local jurisdictions the right to decide on critical safety code provisions and if successful, they will put firefighters and the public at risk,” said International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) President Chief Larry J. Grorud, CFO, MIFireE. “These anti-sprinkler bills will set a dangerous precedent.” Chief Grorud said there are now bills in approximately 15 states that ignore the well established, life-safety benefit of sprinklers and if passed, will take away a real opportunity to enhance public and firefighter safety.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), approximately 80 percent of all fires occur in homes, but when home fire sprinklers are present the chances of dying in a home fire decrease by about 80 percent. NFPA has no record of a multiple fatality fire in a sprinklered building where the system operated. All model safety codes now call for the installation of residential sprinklers in new home construction.

“Now is not the time to backslide on fire and life safety. It is important to move this technology forward with the adoption of sprinkler provisions from the model codes into state and local codes in order to bring this added level of safety to all citizens,” said Georgia State Fire Marshal Alan R. Shuman, president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM).

“We see the devastating consequences of home fires every day, and we know sprinklers save lives,” International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) General President Harold A. Schaitberger said. “These misguided legislative efforts will make it harder to keep people safe, protect their property, and will jeopardize the lives of firefighters.”

“Home fire sprinklers provide an added level of safety because they control heat, smoke and flames allowing occupants time to escape and giving firefighters a safer environment,” said National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “The NVFC’s state association members have been fighting and will continue to push back against attempts to restrict fire sprinkler installation in new residential construction.”

Roughly 90 percent of the time, fires are contained by the operation of just one sprinkler. When sprinklers are not present, the fire can burn for minutes, raging out of control, filling the home with toxic smoke and resulting in far greater losses. A recent NFPA report states that sprinklers reduce the average property loss by 71 percent per fire.

Anyone interested in public safety and learning more about home fire sprinklers can visit www.firesprinklerinitiative.org

By Scott Simianer, City Building Inspector

The City of Hot Springs is a governmental member of the International Code Council (ICC) and utilizes the building codes published by the ICC, as does the State of South Dakota and 47 other states. California and Wisconsin do not currently use this code.

The City currently utilizes the 2003 Editions of the residential and commercial building codes (IRC & IBC) and is expected to update to the current edition early in 2009.

On Sept. 21, 73 percent of the voting members of the ICC voted to support two code proposals requiring fire sprinklers in one and two-family dwellings and townhouses covered by the IRC. The first proposal added the requirement for fire sprinklers in townhouses that fall within the scope of the IRC beginning in 2009, the second added the requirement for one- and two-family dwellings effective January 1, 2011.

The primary function of any fire sprinkler system is fire containment, to keep the fire from spreading. Through suppression and containment there is less smoke and fewer toxic gases, and thus fewer cases of smoke inhalation. Fire victims succumb to smoke and heat first; it is then that they are taken by the fire.

The effectiveness of fire sprinkler systems is proven and isn’t even arguable. So why not have fire sprinklers in residential dwellings? The cost?

Residential fire sprinkler requirements will be less stringent than in commercial or public applications, and there is typically far less space to be protected, so the costs of residential fire sprinkler systems are not expected to be overly expensive, especially when they become more commonplace.

Residential systems will not be required to be engineered. The code will supply charts for most given applications including sprinkler flows, square footage requirements and placement.

The cost of a residential fire sprinkler system is expected to be about $1.60 per square foot in a new home. By comparison, carpeting will cost you that much or more per square foot, wood flooring could cost $3.50 sq/ft on up. Considering that most insurance companies offer discount incentives for fire protection, that square foot cost of increased fire protection could pay for itself in reduced insurance premiums.

One common misconception about fire sprinklers is that if one goes off, they all go off. That is nothing other than Hollywood theatrics to make Arnold Schwarzenegger appear to be a crack shot, by triggering dozens of sprinklers with a single bullet. Fire sprinklers are heat activated. Should a fire spread, even while being engaged by a sprinkler, only the heat from the spreading fire would then activate an additional fire sprinkler, not all of them. Residential sprinkler systems are expected to be sized to operate two full-flow fire sprinklers.

Another misconception is the amount of water damage caused by fire sprinklers (again, thank you, Mr. Schwarzenegger). I would much rather have a single sprinkler containing a fire in my kitchen, using 18 gallons per minute (gpm) until the fire department arrives (in town) ten minutes after the alarm, or about 180 gallons of water. Compare that to a fire spreading from the kitchen stove, to the cabinets, to the ceiling and into the living room in that same ten minutes. Upon arrival, for fear of flash-over, the firemen will cool the fire first (about 200 gallons), and then suppress the kitchen and living room fire with an inch-and-a-half hose (175 gpm) for another ten minutes, or about 1,950 gallons of water. Scenarios will vary, but I believe you see the point I’m trying to make.

Alterations and home additions will not be affected by the new fire sprinkler requirement due to the possibilities of undersized existing water services. Only new construction will only be affected at this point.

I can foresee much discussion on the horizon regarding this new requirement, and my office will keep the community informed as to the direction this is going.

Good luck and good building.

By Eric Lindberg – The Daily Sound

Fire sprinklers will be a mandatory requirement for any new buildings, additions and major remodels in Santa Barbara after leaders unanimously approved changes to the city’s fire code yesterday in an effort to minimize loss of life and unnecessary damage.

In addition to commercial buildings, the requirement will apply to all new single-family homes, a significant fact considering that residential structure fires account for 83 percent of fire-related deaths and 80 percent of fire-related injuries.

“This does mean a real cost to people,” Councilmember Das Williams said. “But the fact is that the lives that will be saved, we cannot put a cost on.”

Data backs up the contention that fire sprinklers save lives and limit damage, City Fire Marshal Joe Poire said, pointing out research that shows the risk of dying in a structure fire is reduced by 82 percent when sprinklers are used in conjunction with smoke detectors, compared to a reduced fatality rate of 63 percent with only smoke detectors.

“They often complete the work before the fire department arrives,” Poire said.

On average, it takes city firefighters approximately eight minutes to respond to a structure fire, from receiving the alarm call to hitting the flames with water.

“During that time, the fire continues to grow,” Poire said. “Fires tend to grow very quickly in ordinary combustibles, like furniture.”

A sprinkler responding to the heat of a fire will dump 20 gallons of water per minute on the flames, he said, usually extinguishing them or buying critical time until firefighters can arrive.

Fire sprinklers played a significant role in saving the life of a resident in the 4200 block of Calle Real last year, Poire said. An accidental fire started in the residence and the victim was unconscious on a burning mattress when an overhead sprinkler extinguished the flames.

“This would have absolutely resulted in a fatality had a sprinkler not been installed,” Poire said, adding that the victim sustained only minor injuries.

Under the prior fire code, fire sprinklers were required for new commercial construction or additions greater than 5,000 square feet, in addition to any commercial buildings larger than 5,000 square feet that are converted to a more hazardous use.

Residential buildings, as well as remodels, were not subject to the requirement.

When the changes go into effect in July, all new residential and commercial buildings, regardless of size, will need sprinklers. Any commercial additions or remodels involving 50 percent or more of the building will also trigger the safety measure.

Additions or remodels in residential structures that exceed 1,000 square feet or 50 percent of the floor area are also covered by the requirement, as well as any building changed to a more hazardous use.

Fire officials researched the approximate cost of installing fire sprinklers in the Santa Barbara area and determined it would fall between $2.50 and $3 per square foot. Poire noted that sprinklers typically reduce fire insurance premiums from 2 to 20 percent.

He also cleared up several myths about fire sprinklers, including the contention that they are all triggered at once by smoke, causing water damage throughout the building

He said sprinklers go off individually based on heat, not smoke. Poire said the relatively lower flow of water compared to fire hoses also causes much less damage.

Although he admitted to being initially skeptical of the requirement, as it would increase the cost of building new homes, Councilmember Dale Francisco said he ultimately determined that the safety measure is warranted.

“I eventually came to the conclusion that this was a good proposal,” he said. “I think this is something that we will look back on and say it was a good idea.”

To read the full article click here.

Legislative efforts preserve rights of local communities to create strongest fire safety requirements

Leading fire service advocates in Ohio and Maine have successfully protected the rights of communities in their states to adopt residential fire sprinklers and other important safety provisions.

Advocates in Ohio stripped a state bill of legislative language that would have prohibited a state board and local communities from making important decisions about a wide range of fire safety requirements – including the use of home fire sprinklers. A recent amendment to Ohio House Bill 2 would have taken several steps to prevent the implementation of important, life-saving fire safety requirements.

The Ohio legislative language would have effectively removed significant authority from the Ohio Board of Building Standards – the board that has long formulated, adopted and amended the state’s building and construction code and given that authority to the state’s Residential Construction Advisory Committee. At the same time, the amendment would have increased the influence of the Ohio Home Builders’ Association on appointments to the Residential Construction Advisory Committee. The proposed language also would have prohibited any jurisdiction in the state from adopting any fire safety provision that would be stronger than the statewide code requirements.

“This amendment would have severely limited the ability of the Ohio Board of Building Standards to adopt requirements for home fire sprinklers and other important safety advances in Ohio,” said Assistant Chief Bob Bates, Madison Township Fire Department and the legislative committee chair for the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association. “When the facts about this amendment became clear, the fire service worked quickly to stop it, preserving the ability of the Board of Building Standards and local communities to make decisions based on what is in the best interests of public safety.”

In Maine, several state fire service groups and fire safety advocates recently appeared at a public hearing held by the Business, Research and Economic Development (BRED) Committee of the Maine Legislature to discuss Legislative Document 440 – An Act Regarding Exceptions to the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. This bill would have exempted residential one- and two-family dwellings from the provisions of the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. This would have effectively eliminated the residential sprinkler provisions in the state building code and, by default, the ability of local communities in the state to adopt such provisions on their own. The committee did not move the bill forward at a work session held subsequent to the hearing.

The proposed legislation in Maine and Ohio were just two of the latest in series of legislative attempts across the country to prevent the use of sprinklers and other important safety enhancements. Fire safety advocates across the country have been battling statutory efforts to prohibit residential sprinklers in at least 16 states. An anti-sprinkler proposal was defeated earlier this year in Illinois.

“The fire service has worked hard to protect the rights of communities to utilize the proven life-saving technology of residential sprinklers,” said Jim Shannon, president of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). “Unfortunately, calculated legislative efforts by sprinkler opponents continue to pose a real threat to public safety.”

According to the NFPA, approximately 80 percent of all fires occur in homes; however, when home fire sprinklers are present, the chances of dying in a home fire decrease by about 80 percent. Home fire sprinklers control heat, smoke and flames allowing occupants time to escape and giving firefighters a safer environment. Roughly 90 percent of the time, fires are contained by the operation of just one sprinkler. When sprinklers are not present, the fire can burn for minutes, raging out of control, filling the home with toxic smoke and resulting in far greater losses. A recent NFPA report states that sprinklers reduce the average property loss by 71 percent per fire. All model safety codes now call for the installation of residential sprinklers in new home construction.

Anyone interested in public safety and learning more about home fire sprinklers can visit www.firesprinklerinitiative.org and also visit links to other organizations that support home fire sprinklers.

House Bill 1511 will prohibit jurisdictions from enforcing ANY law that would mandate fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family dwellings that are less than 7,500 square feet in area. Texas home builders have leveraged connections in the legislature to initiate and push this unprecedented assault on home rule.

If HB 1511 becomes law, cities, counties and emergency service districts will lose authority to determine the best approach to providing fire safety based on local conditions. Although this bill specifically targets residential fire sprinklers, it sets a precedent for the legislature to enact virtually any targeted code amendment to satisfy a special interest group. Imagine home builders’ future attacks on fire hydrants, fire department access roads and other perceived “impediments” to unregulated development, any of which might be next.

HB 1511 has momentum. Against opposition by the Texas Fire Chiefs Association, the Texas Fire Marshals’ Association, the Texas Firemen’s and Fire Marshal’s Association; the Building Officials Association of Texas, the Texas Municipal League and others, the House Committee on Insurance voted 9-0 to pass the bill. Next stop is the House Calendars Committee, which has authority to schedule it for consideration by the full House of Representatives.

Why oppose HB 1511:

- Supporters of HB 1511 would rescind the Texas tradition of “Home Rule” whereby local officials and citizens, those most intimately familiar with their specific need, are allowed to determine the best fire and building code requirements to address their unique circumstance.

- The fire service, building officials and municipalities oppose HB1511 because it would remove local control and self-determination.

- HB1511 is intrusive and an overreach. Rejecting HB1511 will maintain the current
practice of Texas localities making their own decisions, as they have for decades.

- Under the current system, localities adopt only what they determine to be the best policy, rule or law for the protection of their community.

- HB 1511 prohibits localities from protecting citizens and properties from the menace of fire with the most effective technology known to reduce loss of life and property to fire, residential sprinklers.

Click on the following to view the full Texas HB1511 Legislative Alert

Edson Leader

Edson’s fire chief welcomes the changes recently undertaken by the provincial government to increase fire protection.

While the changes will not affect Edson and area that much, any measure taken to improve security and safety helps, Al Schram said.

“From a fire perspective, anything we can do to make structures safer we fully support.”

The changes announced on March 12 are two years ahead of proposed national code revisions and were lobbied for following Edmonton’s MacEwan Green subdivision fire in 2007 that destroyed 18 homes and damaged 76 others.

Cited as factors in the rapid spread of the fire were high winds, the use of vinyl siding and the close proximity of the structures.

Changes were made to the Alberta Fire Code and the Alberta Building Code.

Fire Code changes include:

• Requiring buildings adjacent to construction sites to be protected from potential fires.

• Requiring enhanced fire safety plans on construction sites to help control fire hazards in and around buildings.

• Clarifying where fire extinguishers should be located on construction sites.

• Improving safety measures for construction processes involving heat sources, such as roofing equipment, in order to prevent these activities from starting fires.

• Improving access to construction sites for fire departments by ensuring that:

- Fire trucks have adequate access to the site to be effective.

- Firefighters can access all parts of a building under construction; and,

- That the appropriate water supply systems are in place to accommodate firefighting.

In the Building Code the following changes will take place:

• Adding new fire resistance requirements for homes built close together:

- New homes with flammable siding, such as vinyl, built close to the property lines will be required to have fire resistant material, such as gypsum board, installed under the siding.

- New homes built close together will have new restrictions on the size and amount of windows allowed facing their neighbours.

• Improving sprinkler or exterior siding requirements for walk-up apartment buildings; and,

• Adding new fire resistant requirements for the interior of attached garages.

Schram said the spacing between buildings is often dictated by municipal land use bylaws. He said the recommendations coming from the codes would hopefully be incorporated into those.

Schram is hoping that residential sprinkler systems will become more of a standard in the future, but right now they’re rare.

“We’re not seeing a lot of that at all. It’s something we’d like to see. If you put a residential sprinkler system in your home, you could save your home real easily.”

Schram added, the costs of such systems are coming down and he’s hopeful that sprinkler systems will one day become part of the building code.

He said residential sprinkler systems are not prevalent, and that he was hard pressed to cite any existing local examples.

Schram said his department is not restricted when it comes to access to structures and good communication and planning with Town of Edson officials help to ensure this. He cited the Hillendale subdivision as one of those examples.

“With Hillendale we were involved in the planning from day one with our town engineers to make sure the streets were going to be adequate and the cul de sacs were going to be big enough. Locally we’re really fortunate we have a really good working relationship with our engineering and planning department — that we are accommodating that stuff.”

Changes to the Fire Code have already taken place. Building Code changes will take effect on May 3.

To read the full article click here.

QUINCY, Mass., March 19, 2009 – A statewide legislative threat that would have eliminated the ability of local communities to adopt or enforce requirements for home fire sprinklers has been defeated in Illinois. The Illinois bill died in recent days, but sprinkler opponents continue to push similar anti-sprinkler legislation in several other states.

Despite the fact that all major safety codes now call for the installation of fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes, sprinkler opponents want to prevent the adoption of these codes at the local level. The anti-sprinkler legislation threatens to put lives at stake.

“These anti-sprinkler bills have been designed to take a step backward in public safety,” says Jim Shannon, president of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). “The bills ignore the success of a proven technology and inappropriately take away a community’s ability to protect its citizens with this life-saving equipment. The fire service and other sprinkler advocates worked to defeat this safety threat in Illinois, but the threat of anti-sprinkler bills continues to be very real in other states.”

The legislation defeated in the Illinois Senate was brought down through teamwork and grassroots coordination. A dedicated group of supporters let their voices be heard with phone calls, letters to officials and testimony at a committee meeting. The Illinois bill was defeated by a 6-to-3 vote in committee.

“With the vast majority of the fire deaths in this country occurring in homes, it is unconscionable for anyone to stand in the way of efforts to save lives,” added Shannon. According to NFPA, the risk of dying in a home fire is cut by approximately 80 percent with home sprinklers.

In response to the continued legislative threat, NFPA is making available important information regarding the anti-sprinkler bills and the life-saving effect of sprinklers. Home fire sprinkler advocates can access that information through the Fire Sprinkler Initiative: Bringing Safety Home Web site. This new, free resource is a source of information and contains tools needed to fight for sprinklers in homes. The Fire Sprinkler Initiative, a project of NFPA, is designed to give supporters the resources they need to communicate the need for home fire sprinklers.

Hastings Star Gazette

Rules to mandate automatic fire sprinklers in new homes constructed after Jan. 1, 2011, will be delayed, the state Department of Labor and Industry says.

In a decision announced Monday in a letter to code officials, design professionals and contractors, the state agency cited four criteria in its decision not to move forward with the adoption of the 2009 building code recommendations that include the mandatory sprinkler provision.

“Given the drastic slowdown of the construction economy, we feel it is not the appropriate time to be updating regulations,” Steve Hernick, state building official, and Jerry Rosendahl, state fire marshal, said in the Department of Labor and Industry letter.

The International Code Council voted to add the provision to its International Residential Code during its meeting last fall in Minneapolis. The IRC, which is updated every three years, is basis of the Minnesota Building Code.

Labor and Industry Commissioner Steve Sviggum held a town meeting in December at Bemidji to gain input on the provision, and had planned to appoint an advisory council to formally begin a public hearing process on the new code when it was to be published in March.

“We appreciate that government understands the significant burden adopting a new building code would place on both homeowners and builders at this time,” Monte Mraz, Builders Association of Minnesota president said Tuesday in response to the memo.

Minnesota will forgo adopting the 2009 version of the International Code Council residential and fire code and instead wait to review the 2012 version, when available, he said.

“We are confident that the existing residential building code will continue to protect homeowners.,” Mraz said. “What we have now works; there will be no harm to citizens by the delay.”

In July 2007, Minnesota adopted the 2006 International Residential Code with a number of amendments. As an example, “BAM introduced requirements to the building code that address best building practices to reduce water intrusion,” said Mraz.

Minnesota also recently adopted a strict residential energy code to be implemented this summer. The new energy code includes provisions for reducing moisture-related problems in new residential construction and remodeling. Mraz added,

“Minnesota is known as a national leader in energy efficient construction for good reason. We build the most efficient homes in the country and have the data to prove it. The next version of the energy code will keep us on this path,” he said.

If Minnesota were to adopt the 2009 version of the IRC without amendments, every new construction permit pulled including single-family homes, would require fire sprinklers, Mraz said. By deciding to forgo adoption of the 2009 codes, the fire sprinkler mandate for all single-family homes will not go into effect for quite some time, if at all.

Reasons DLI cited for issuing the delay include;

* The availability of volunteers for technical advisory committees, given cutbacks in code jurisdictions, among design professionals and product suppliers.

* The staff time involved by state agencies for both the committee work and the rules process under the Administrative Procedures Act.

* The cost of code books and reference materials for townships, cities, counties, state agency offices, design professionals and other industry members.

* The cost of training for builders, designers, code officials and other industry members and the focus of the training on changes rather than other critical concepts.

“Based on the above criteria, we will not be moving forward with the adoption of the 2009 IRC, IBC or IFC and will strive to have our advisory committees and the state fire chief’s code committee ready to review the 2012 editions of these codes,” Hernick and Rosendahl wrote.

To read the full article click here.