By Martha Quillin
The News & Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Fire service workers across the state are gearing up for a major campaign to educate the public about the benefits of residential sprinkler systems and to persuade the N.C. Building Code Council to require them in new homes.
The council Tuesday turned down a request by a group of firefighters, chiefs and fire marshals to consider requiring sprinklers in all new homes of 3,600 square feet or larger, and those at least three stories tall. Council Chairman Dan Tingen asked a committee to take up the issue, saying it would lead to a fuller discussion about whether to require sprinklers in houses of all sizes.
The firefighters say the Building Code Council could prevent fire deaths in the state by requiring sprinklers, but that members have refused because their building-industry connections have them too focused on installation costs.
"The Building Code Council is stacked against us," Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones said. "They're obviously playing to the interests of the industry." However, "We're used to a fight, and we're used to a fight against overwhelming odds. That shouldn't discourage us. If anything, it should inspire us."
Tingen, a Raleigh homebuilder, says he believes in sprinklers but has never had a customer request them. Fire service workers say that's in large part because most homebuyers are unaware that sprinklers can be installed in new construction for 1 to 2 percent of the cost of the home. that because they are heat-activated the only sprinkler heads that go off during a fire are those needed to suppress flames, and that sprinklers can significantly reduce the amount of damage caused by a fire and the cost of subsequent repairs.
Greensboro Fire Marshal David Douglas said the group asked for sprinklers in larger homes as a starting point and because it takes longer for people to get out of those homes during a fire. In October, seven college students died in a large, elevated two-story home at Ocean Isle Beach that would have been required to have sprinklers if built under the rule the firefighters proposed.
Brunswick County Fire Marshal Scott Garner told the Building Code Council on Tuesday that the final report on that fire will indicate that investigators think all the students who died had tried to get out of the house. But the fire spread quickly and blocked their exit, Garner said.
Fire-safety advocates say sprinklers put out fires while they're small and slow the spread of fire.
But the N.C. Home Builders Association thinks there are more practical and effective ways to prevent fire deaths, such as smoke alarms and fire-safety education.
"Sprinkler installation costs are far greater than what advocates state, and there are no data to support that mandatory requirements are a cost effective approach to reducing fire incident, injuries and fatalities," the group said in a statement Tuesday.
The statement also cites unspecified technical problems, and says, "Homebuyers should not be forced to pay for systems they do not want and that will not significantly improve their safety.
Copyright 2007 The News and Observer
