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 2012 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.”

Currently, Minnesota State Building Code does not require the installation of fire sprinklers in new single-family homes.

Although the bill in being lauded by the home builder association—and was passed through the Minnesota House of Representatives by a large margin (90-40)—it’s opposed by the Minnesota Fire Chiefs Association (MNFCA).

In light of the legislation, the MNFCA launched a full-fledged opposition to the legislation stating: “Some issues really are about life and death. The costs are modest. The investment is sound. And the cost of inaction will be measured in lives lost. Stand together with us and make a difference.”

Fire sprinklers are a “vital” piece of life-safety equipment that starts containing and putting the fire out before firefighters arrive, Glaser said. The lightweight trusses used in the building of new homes doesn’t fair well in fire conditions—burning hotter and faster—and pose a greater danger for firefighters, he said.

“They do work,” Glaser said. “They have the capability of saving lives.”

While firefighters say the installation of fire sprinklers in new homes is a matter of safety, home builders argue it’s an added cost to building new homes in what’s already a struggling housing market.

“This is a hot-button issue for me,” said Don Nelson, president of American Classic Homes. “It’s a matter of affordability. I’m all for strict regulations on making sure smoke detectors are working, but mandating sprinkler systems just doesn’t make sense. It would affect buyers and builders.”

State Reps. Matt Dean (R–52B) and Kathy Lohmer (R-56A) each cast votes in support of the bill. The legislation also passed through the Senate’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and got its second reading in the state Senate on April 14. If the bill passes through the Senate it will be presented to Gov. Mark Dayton.

“I spent a lot of time talking with the Lake Elmo fire chief and the other side of this,” Lohmer said. “I went back and forth on it only to come to the point that it only makes a small difference (when it comes to safety).”

The survival rate in a house fire is 99.45 percent when there are working smoke detectors in a home, Lohmer said of information presented during a legislative session. That rate only goes up a fraction—to 99.85 percent—when fire sprinklers are added into the equation, she said.

“The safety issue wasn’t really the thing (when considering how to vote),” she said. “But it is such a huge expense for builders who are having a hard enough time building homes.”

The MNFCA disagrees.

On a typical day in the United States, eight people die in house fires, according to the MNFCA. In Minnesota, 37 people died in house fires last year.

“The lack of fire sprinkler systems hits the most vulnerable the hardest: the elderly, the disabled, children and beloved pets,” the MNFCA elaborated in a news release. “The lack of sprinklers puts firefighters at far greater risk.”

The cost of installing fire sprinklers, which is at the heart of the builder’s argument against them, varies.

According to the MNFCA, fire sprinklers can be installed for about $3,900 in a new, 2,400 square foot home.

According to builders, the cost of installing sprinkler systems in a new home is between $3.72 and $8 per square foot when people need to install pumps for wells, Lohmer said. “That’s a real big expense,” she said.

Most of the property damage in the aftermath of a house fire is the result of smoke and water damage, Glaser said.

“Sprinkler systems release about 10-12 gallons of water per minute, which can contain and even put out some fires,” Glaser said. “But when we arrive and there is no sprinkler system to cool the fire we have an engine and a crew dumping hoses at 125-250 gallons of water per minute.”

Insurance premiums are also lower when a fire sprinkler is installed, Glaser said. Fire sprinklers can save money from fire department budgets, which would lower cost to the taxpayers, he said.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, sprinklers reduce the average property loss by 50-66 percent per fire.

But Nelson doesn’t buy it.

“It’s just another financial burden for homeowners and it makes building a home less affordable,” he said. “It will limit the low-end buyers who already have a hard time getting mortgage loans. It will force people into existing houses and townhomes.

“I don’t want to see anyone die in a fire,” he continued, “but it needs to make sense for the whole population.”