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NAHB Loses First Vote on Fire Sprinkler Mandate
Two NAHB proposals that would have removed requirements for fire sprinkler systems in one- and two-family homes from the 2012 International Residential Code (IRC) lost the first battle last week when the Residential Building and Energy Committee voted seven to four to keep this mandate in the main body of the code.
The vote took place Oct. 28 during the International Code Council's Code Development Hearings in Baltimore. As a result of the committee’s decision, at least two-thirds of voting governmental members, rather than a simple majority, must approve the proposal to remove the mandates when the ICC’s Final Action Hearings take place next spring.
NAHB will continue to work on behalf of affordability and technical effectiveness in addressing this issue, said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.
“NAHB believes that making sure every home has working smoke alarms should be our safety priority, not mandating expensive sprinkler systems for consumers who overwhelmingly don’t want them,” Robson said.
A campaign by fire sprinkler manufacturers and other supporters brought hundreds of fire fighters and fire service personnel to the Baltimore Hilton for the sprinkler debate.
Before the debate began, representatives from the Baltimore City Fire Department asked all members and observers to leave so it could be reconfigured to accommodate the crowds expected for the committee’s discussions and voting.
After an hour, the hearings resumed, with more than 1,700 fire fighters and their supporters taking seats.
The debate lasted only half an hour.
Representatives from the National Fire Protection Association took issue with NAHB’s use of statistics demonstrating that the survivability rate of surviving a fire where there are working smoke detectors present is 99.45% percent — although that figure is taken directly from an NFPA study of that issue.
After the committee voted, a hand count of all members present, including the fire fighters, estimated that 40 representatives were in favor of the NAHB proposal and more than 1,700 against.
Most of the fire fighters left the meeting just after the vote on the fire sprinkler proposals and were not present the next morning for the hearings on the remaining IRC proposals.
For instance. the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) had proposed an amendment that would require that a sticker be placed in new homes to indicate the presence of roof trusses and fire sprinkler systems. NAHB did not speak in opposition to that proposal, but no IAFF representative was present for the vote, which lost with a floor count of 35 to 75.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
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