Thursday, May 24,2012
By: Carrie Van Brunt-Wiley
Building safety groups are calling on state officials to take action and make it a requirement that all new homes include residential sprinkler systems.
The group says that the building code created by the International Code Council required sprinklers to be installed in new residential construction starting last year. However, some states have opted out of that requirement, partially to concerns about the impact on construction costs.
The IBHS calls this a major safety concern, since sprinklers drop the rate of fatal fires by 83 percent. In addition, property damage measured by home insurance claims is 69 percent lower in homes with sprinklers.
"The life safety and property protection benefits of residential fire sprinklers are well known and undisputed," said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. "State policymakers have the ability to do the right thing and act to save thousands of lives and homes each year by mandating residential fire sprinklers in new residential construction."
A separate study by FM Global and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition also discovered positive results. It found that sprinklers cut fire damage by more than 90 percent, and also saved water and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from fires.
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