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CFSI Update: Fire Sprinkler Legislation Introduced in the House
The following article is from the CFSI Update: May 17. 2011

Congressman Aaron Shock (IL-8) introduced the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act (HR 1792) on May 5, 2011 with Congressman James Langevin (RI-02) serving as an original co-sponsor.  The legislation was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
 
The original measure was introduced in 2004 following the tragic nightclub fire in West Warwick, RI that claimed the lives of 100 victims.  Since then, the legislation has been reintroduced in subsequent Congresses with various changes made to address concerns raised by members of Congress regarding cost estimates.
 
Under the legislation introduced by Rep. Shock, automatic sprinklers could be treated as Section 179 property under the tax code.   Section 179 allows small and medium sized businesses to write-off the full cost of equipment purchases, up to $125,000, in a single year.  While automatic fire sprinklers are not currently classified as a Section 179 property, passage of the legislation would allow property owners to retrofit a large majority of high fire-risk properties, such as certain off-campus housing, night clubs, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 
  
The legislation would also create a financial incentive for high-rise building owners to install sprinkler systems by reducing the depreciation schedule to 15 years.  Currently the depreciation schedule is 39 years for commercial properties and 27.5 years for residential properties.  This reduction will also put sprinkler improvements more in line with the current tax code that allows 15-year depreciation for leasehold improvements.  
 

 

 

Residential Sprinklers In The News...

National

Home sprinklers will save lives and won't kill the housing recovery
OpEd: John Waters Penn. Residential Fire Sprinkler Coalition

On April 29, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation adopted strict regulations aimed at ending long delays on airport tarmacs in which passengers were held as hostages. Airlines could now be fined up to $27,500 per passenger for a flight that remains on the tarmac for more than three hours.

Just as airlines warned of "gloom and doom" from tarmac delay rules, the Pennsylvania Home Builders Associations warn of dire consequences if jurisdictions require fire sprinklers in new homes. Their primary argument against fire sprinklers is that they will increase the cost of new homes, which in turn will delay or kill recovery of the housing market. Although that's a nice sound bite, it fails the "perspective" test in several ways.

Getting on board with fire sprinklers
Editorial: FineHomebuilding

As a building official, I am in favor of residential fire sprinklers because they save lives and property. However, I am not in favor of a mandate for sprinklers in every home at this time. Public interest must drive the demand for residential fire sprinklers, and it is the duty of building officials and builders to educate homeowners on the value of sprinkler systems.

To become more acceptable, the installation of sprinklers should be accompanied by safety trade-offs that offset costs and incentivize their use. Trade-offs may include a lowered fire rating of the wall assemblies between units of a multifamily home or a lesser requirement for fire-access roads in a subdivision. Acceptance may take a few years, but I am confident that with adequate information about how sprinklers work and a few sprinkler success stories, homeowners will begin requesting sprinklers in their new homes.

Residential fire sprinklers: two sides of the coin
Editorial: ContractorMag.com

There are definitely two sides to every issue, that's for sure. The article I wrote concerning the Pennsylvania residential fire sprinkler mandate up for consideration got our readers talking, and many of them aired their opinions on Contractor's website. Click here to read the article and comments.

It's very interesting ... the different perspectives on this issue. On one hand, safety seems to be most important when discussing fire sprinkler systems. On the other hand it seems there are concerns that sprinkler systems are too expensive and no one will be able to afford a new home with the added cost. Then there are the in-between perspectives, such as the sprinkler industry should be more concerned about older homes without sprinkler systems rather than focusing on new construction, that it should be up to the homeowner if they want a sprinkler system installed, that mandating fire sprinklers is a step closer to democracy being stripped from the U.S., etc.


State/Local

-Alaska
Sprinklers don't hold water in Fairbanks residential building rules
The city of Fairbanks recently adopted a new list of residential building rules but chose to leave out mandatory sprinklers, citing the extra cost to residents, builders and the overall economy. "We did not feel it was appropriate at this point in time for our community," city building official Steve Shuttleworth said.

A bill moving through the Alaska Legislature would require local governments to notify the public and host three public hearings before adopting such a rule. Local officials decided against it because it would force builders to add an expensive system that doesn't add value to the home's appraisal. Appraisers say they don't value sprinklers because the market doesn't value them. Yet firefighters say they are just as important as a fire alarm.


-Arizona
Valley cities decry bills aimed at curbing municipal authority
In March, Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law House Bill 2153, which prohibits cities and counties from adopting an ordinance that requires installing fire sprinklers in single-family homes. The bill was signed with an emergency clause, taking effect immediately.
The legislation was written in response to a trade association's decision last summer to add mandatory fire sprinklers to its recommended residential-building code.

In a letter to House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, Brewer said she signed the bill because such a requirement would have "put obstacles in the way of the home-construction industry's efforts to recover from a very deep recession."  She added that the fire-sprinkler decision "belongs in the hands of the homebuyer."


-California
Sprinkler mandates targeted
The state of California may soon join other states in the push against new fire sprinkler mandates, and the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to support a bill that would allow counties to exempt new single-family dwellings from the regulations.

Senate Bill 726, introduced by senators Tom Berryhill and Doug LaMalfa, addresses the sprinkler requirements set forth by the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code and the International Residential Code, both of which set forth mandatory fire sprinkler suppression systems for residential and commercial buildings built after Jan. 1. 

The language in SB 726 states that if approved, it will authorize counties to opt out of the fire sprinkler requirements for single-family residenital dwellings until Jan. 1, 2014, either by resolution or ordinance.


-Colorado
Pitkin County to adopt fire code
Area fire officials on Tuesday convinced Pitkin County commissioners to adopt the International Fire Code, putting some teeth into the enforcement of fire department edicts.

Commissioners directed staffers to draft an ordinance adopting the code, which will become enforceable as part of the county's building code. Without the action, fire officials find themselves "bluffing" when they issue orders regarding compliance with the code in the unincorporated areas of the county, said Scott Thompson, Basalt fire chief.  He offered the former Woody Creek trailer park as an example. Aspen fire officials wanted to require that homes in the park have sprinklers, given the close quarters in the subdivision and the tight roadway through it. The county decided not to require sprinklers.


-Minnesota
Stillwater Fire Chief Opposes Bill to Ban Fire Sprinklers in New Homes
A bill that prohibits state and local building and fire codes from requiring fire sprinklers in new, single-family homes has passed the House of Representatives and a Senate committee, but doesn't get support from Stillwater Fire Chief Stu Glaser.

The bill, H.F. 460, is a preemptive strike against a pending provision in the IRC [International Residential Code] that will mandate fire sprinklers in all new single-family residences, according to a news release from the Building Association of Minnesota (BAM).

Glaser said he does not support the effort to ban provisions to building and fire codes.  "There is a process in place for rule-making, debating and amending building codes," the fire chief said. "This [bill] supersedes that by going the legislative route."


-Missouri
  Mo. Gov. Nixon signs fire sprinkler legislation
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation requiring home builders to offer to install fire sprinklers for buyers. The bill signed Friday extends to 2019 an existing law that was set to expire at the end of this year. The law requires builders of townhouses and one- and two-family homes to offer to install fire sprinklers. Buyers who accept the offer would pay for the installation.


-Montana
Montana's governor vetoes anti-sprinkler legislation
Citing "serious public safety concerns" Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer has vetoed an anti-sprinkler bill passed by the legislature.

House Bill 307 would have prohibited the Department of Labor and Industry from adopting mandatory requirements of fire sprinkler systems in one- and two-family dwellings in the state building code, and would have also denied local jurisdictions from adopting same.


-New Hampshire
NH lawmakers vote to ban sprinkler requirements
Local and state fire officials say a move to prohibit towns from requiring sprinkler systems in homes jeopardizes public safety and guts local control.  Senate Bill 91, passed by the Senate in February and the House last week, now goes to Gov. John Lynch.

Fire officials: Sprinkler bill is 'power grab'
Top Seacoast fire officials have joined others from across the state in opposition to a recently passed bill that prohibits municipalities from requiring automatic fire suppression sprinklers in certain homes.


-Pennsylvania
Opinion: Sen. Mike Stack D-Philadelphia
Law sends bad message
More fire fatalities, property damage and more danger. That's what we get from the first bill Gov. Tom Corbett has signed into law. This measure repeals the residential fire sprinkler requirement in the International Residential Code, which requires all newly constructed one- and two-family homes built in Pennsylvania to have a fire sprinkler system installed.

The new law made a second dangerous change. It requires a two-thirds vote by the Review and Advisory Committee to change the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. This will create gridlock and prevent adoption of common-sense public safety changes.

Despite repeal, some still back sprinklers
Gov. Tom Corbett's repeal of the fire sprinkler law is getting mixed reviews, with some not backing down from the position that it would have offered additional safety for residents and firefighters.

Builders say the repeal act has an amendment that reforms the way construction codes are adopted in the state and takes proactive steps to improve safety standards.
"It's kind of unfortunate that they decided to do away with the law. It actually was a good thing for the homeowners," said Jeff Evans, chief of the Dauntless Fire Company in Ebensburg.

Corbett undoes sprinkler requirement for new homes
Gov. Corbett on Monday signed his first bill into law since taking office in January, undoing a requirement that fire sprinkler systems be installed in all new single- or two-unit homes.

"This is a commonsense measure to keep new-home prices within the reach of working families," Corbett said at a bill-signing ceremony in the Capitol.  The bill to eliminate the sprinkler requirement cleared the House and Senate by wide margins this month.


International

Fire Sprinklers Made Compulsory For All New Homes in Wales
Wales has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that makes residential fire sprinklers compulsory in all new homes. Wales passed the law in a bid to reduce the number of deaths involved in fires in the home.

More than 100 people have been killed in fires in Welsh homes over the past seven years alone and this new initiative is geared towards reducing the number of deaths. The law was passed by the Welsh Assembly who voted unanimously for it. The new law will apply to all new homes in Wales, including flats, university halls of residence and care homes.

The legislation follows a campaign started by the Residential Sprinkler Association 15 years ago to legislate for sprinklers in all homes in the UK and will now go for Royal Assent this month. The Bill is expected to take effect at the end of 2011.

 

Carbon Monoxide Detectors In The News...
 

 

Ohio landlord hit with rare charge in CO deaths
Landlord Steven Snow is charged with four reckless homicide counts, highlighting the increasing accountability being put on building owners whose tenants live in dangerous conditions. Nearly half of all states now have laws requiring property owners to install detectors for the deadly gas.

Investigators in Ohio say Snow didn't intend to harm anyone but knew the dangers of running a generator when he gave it to the family in the rental home near downtown Toledo. He also removed it from the house before police arrived, they said.
Snow has pleaded not guilty and could face 20 years in prison if convicted.


Advocate pushes for approval of Hawkins-Gignac Act
Bill 69, the Hawkins-Gignac Act, calls for mandatory carbon monoxide alarms in all Ontario homes. The private member's bill has passed first and second reading, but third reading has been held up. A number of municipalities in the province, including North Bay, have passed bylaws requiring at least one carbon monoxide detector in all homes in the city. But, according to Gignac, 60% of Ontario homes still do not have one.
He said there is ample proof carbon monoxide detectors save lives, in the same way smoke detectors have been credited with saving thousands of lives since they became mandatory on every level of a home in 2006.


Capitol Review: 'Tyler's Law' Gets Senate Hearing
A bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Wiger that seeks to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning through education got a hearing in the Minnesota Senate last week.

Woodbury residents Kelly and Jeff Lavers testified in favor of the legislation, dubbed Tyler's Law, Tuesday before the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill would require driver's education courses to address the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and require a question about it on permit tests.

 

Smoke Alarms In The News...
 

 

 Atlanta Fire Rescue Department Recalls Smoke Alarms
 
The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department is recalling 18,507 photoelectric smoke alarms distributed to residents and businesses through its Atlanta Smoke Alarm Program because they had counterfeit Underwriters Laboratories labels affixed to them.

Other News...

 

A Question of Safety

Worcester Telegram (Worcester, Mass.)

Home builders, set back for the past few years by the housing slump, are concerned that a proposal now under discussion within the state Department of Public Safety could give communities the option of requiring home fire suppression sprinkler systems, adding to the cost of a home and potentially pricing out some buyers.

 

 

Three Legislators Honored For Supporting Building Safety
A South Carolina State Senator, a New Mexico State Senator, and a New Jersey Assemblyman are recipients of the International Code Council's first ever Elected Official of the Year Award. The honor recognizes elected governmental officials for their contribution to building safety. The award winners are South Carolina Senator Phil P. Leventis, New Mexico Senator Bernadette M. Sanchez, and New Jersey Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski.


Massive BC fire highlights concern over proposed changes to the building code
Recent fires in homes with mid-rise wood frame buildings have brought into focus the issue of fire safety in residential neighborhoods.  Recent proposed changes to the Ontario Building Code and to the National Building Code, that would allow wood frame buildings over 4-stories in other regions of Canada, are being strongly opposed by the masonry industry as dangerous to human life.

The Richmond, B.C. [British Columbia] project was to be the first example of a 6-story all-wood structure, as allowed under the changes to the B.C. Building Code, which came into effect in 2009. The Masonry Institute in B.C. has issued a statement of concern over these changes to the Building Code.

"Human life and the safety of our neighborhoods are at question here," says Bill McEwen, Executive Director of the Masonry Institute of B.C.  "Engineered wood products, which are used extensively in these types of buildings, are fabricated with glue, and can burn faster than regular wood products.  The firewalls in the Richmond project were made of wood and drywall.  Normal concrete block firewalls were not used, apparently due to concerns about the large amount of wood shrinkage expected in 6-story wood construction.  Concrete block walls could have protected these buildings, both during construction and more importantly during occupancy."


NFPA Conference & Expo: June 12-15, 2011 - Boston, Massachusetts
Convening at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the event combines an unrivaled educational conference with an expo of more than 300 solution providers. There is no better opportunity to speak with experts, evaluate products, find solutions to your technical challenges and stay current with technological advances in your field.
Registration Information


Free Online Tool Aids Decisions on Fire Sprinkler Systems for Homes
NIST's new, Web-based "sprinkler use decisioning" tool, developed by information technology specialist Priya Lavappa and economist David Butry, enables experts and non-experts alike to assess the cost-effectiveness of fire sprinklers for their particular jurisdiction, development, or dwelling.

Users can input their own data to supply values for categories of costs and benefits in the model. They also can opt for a combination of user-defined data and national or local statistics. The NIST developers mined the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) to assemble national and city-level data on fire risk, fire fatality and injury rates, property loss, and other figures of merit. NFIRS contains fire-related data for more than 1,300 cities.

By researching and supplying their own data on local sprinkler installation and maintenance costs, insurance premiums and credits, value of the house and contents, discount rate and other variables, users can get a realistic estimate of the cost-effectiveness, or "present value net benefits," of an investment in a sprinkler system.


Clark County, Wash., Building Safety Campaign Earns Code Council Raising the Profile Award
A public campaign that promotes the importance of permits and the work building code professionals do to save lives and protect property is the recipient of the International Code Council 2011 Raising the Profile Award.

The Clark County (Wash.) Building Safety Program earned the award, which recognizes contributions that raise public awareness of the role code enforcement officials play in public safety. The Clark County Building Safety Program is a charter member of the Think Permit outreach program.

"For five years the Clark County Building Safety trailer has brought examples of good and bad construction and interactive displays and tools to neighborhoods. Their reputation has spurred other jurisdictions to observe their work and to improve their own programs," Brothers said.

"At least twice a year for the last five years we have taken our custom trailer and set up our Think Permit booth that has good/bad construction displays and combined it with an activity for children and their parents," Muir said. "The activities over the years... have included building birdhouses, craft crates, room signs, growth sticks and a rubber ducky toss. We have taken 'boring' out of a governmental booth and made it an event while promoting the work and importance of building code professionals."


FCC to launch disaster alert system for cell phones
The Federal Communications Commission is expanding its familiar emergency alert system notifications sent over TV and radio to now include mobile phones.

Dubbing the new service PLAN (Personal Localized Alerting Network), the government would target the alerts in the form of text messages sent to cell phones of people who need or want to be notified in the event of an emergency. Developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), PLAN would allow customers of any participating wireless carrier to turn their phones into personal alert systems.

The service will initially launch in New York City by the end of this year but is expected to roll out nationwide in 2012 through support from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. To receive the alerts, a mobile phone must be outfitted with a certain hardware chip, typically found in higher-end phones.

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