Resolution Mandating Fire Sprinklers Passes

View Fire Sprinkler Resolution It's been a long road for the IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition, but it appears the group's fight to have fire sprinklers in new single-family homes required by the International Residential Code has come to an end. According to the Jeffrey Shapiro, the group's executive director, IRC Proposal RB64-07/08, passed around noon on Sunday, Sept. 21 at the International Code Council's annual conference in Minneapolis. The resolution garnered 72 percent in favor versus 26 percent against out of a voting pool of close to two thousand people. Two cycles ago, Shapiro said the resolution garnered 56 percent of the vote but failed to gain the required two-thirds vote. During the last cycle, the resolution was added to the appendix. "I am very pleasantly surprised," he said. "In the past there has been an overwhelming reaction from the homebuilding community to oppose this." The National Association of Home Builders has been a major opponent of the resolution, but the organization contends that it is not opposed to fire sprinklers in single-family homes, but instead opposes a mandate to install such systems. "Unfortunately, fire sprinkler manufacturers and their supporters won the vote Sunday, making these expensive, hard-to-maintain sprinkler systems part of the code," NAHB President Sandra J. Dunn said in an e-mailed statement. "We disagree with this mandate, but our members will continue to advocate for cost-effective construction and life safety measures through the model code process." The approval of the resolution means that IRC's code will mandate fire sprinklers in single family homes beginning Jan. 1, 2011. "It will give the building industry time to start installing these systems and allow builders time to recover from the recent economic downturn," Shapiro said. The group has made strong efforts this cycle to get the entire fire service involved in the supporting the resolution -- something Shapiro said helped them achieve their goal. "It was unprecedented," he said of the turnout; noting members of the fire service turned out from "coast to coast, north to south." During the public comment portion of the hearing, former Green Bay, Wis. Firefighter Jo Brinkley recalled a 2006 blaze that claimed the life of Lt. Arnie Wolff. "The floor collapsed," she said about the 10-foot drop into the basement. "I remember the feeling; like I was burning. I could feel the flashlight melting in my hand." Brinkley attributes the conditions inside the blaze to the lightweight construction of the home -- which was only a few years old -- and said she believes Wolff would still be alive if the home they responded to was sprinklered. Ozzie Mirkhah, Fire Protection Engineer for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue and a Firehouse.com columnist said there is still much to be done to have sprinklers required in new construction across the county. "The battle is won, but the war is not over," he said. "We must now battle at the local level. We must continue to work hand-in-hand with the different groups and with the building officials to see this through." Michael O'Brian of the Michigan Fire Inspectors expressed optimism after observing the room filled with raised hands as the vote was taken. "Hopefully this will be helpful to further the cause," he said. "It was a pretty momentous occasion and a change that we are all very happy to see." Bob Davidson, a code consultant with the National Association of State Fire Marshal's said the week-long conference encompassed more than just the sprinkler vote and that the process to review resolutions can be an arduous task "It's grueling and backbreaking to sit in here all day," he said. "A lot of us have been here all week. You start at 8 a.m. on the first day and 7 a.m. on the second day. We're normally in this room until 10 p.m., but it has gone later than that. The code process is tough." Firehouse.com will provide more information on this story in the coming days. Related Articles: Group Pushes for Code Mandating Fire Sprinklers in Single-Family Homes Michael O'Brian: What to Expect at the ICC Final Action Hearings in September Related Podcasts: Fire Codes and the Upcoming Residential Sprinkler Vote Community Fire Protection: Common Voices with Important Safety Messages Fire Panel Tackles Issues from Community Fire Protection to Line-of-Duty Deaths Related Links: International Code Council IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition National Association of Home Builders