# CA 2011 requirement for fire sprinklers in new homes



## mark handler (May 10, 2010)

CA 2011 requirement for fire sprinklers in new homes will ***** safety for families, firefighters

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Posted: 05/10/2010 01:00:33 AM PDT

A fire sprinkler system in the rafters of Panama RedÕs coffee house in Vallejo will help to contain a blaze should one erupt. A new law will require similar sprinkler systems in all new residential construction. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald) Local fire officials applaud a new state law requiring fire sprinklers in new homes, but some experts say that while they can save lives, they also can lead to unexpected damage and higher costs.

The new fire codes, which were adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in January and kick in next year, require all new one-and two-family dwellings built in California to install fire sprinklers.

But there is another side to the issue, fire and construction officials said.

"Fire sprinklers do their job -- they keep the fire contained until firefighters can get there," one local firefighter said. "But they can be a double-edged sword, when the heads are accidentally broken -- by children playing or by using them to hang a hanger on -- and then they can cause water damage."

Mandating fire sprinklers also will likely significantly increase the cost of building a house, Vallejo's Arsenal Construction owner Max Martir said.

"It will add more cost to construction and could slow down new construction,"

Martir said. "Fire sprinkler installation requires a special license so I'd sub that out."

A fire sprinkler system likely will increase the cost of building a new home by thousands of dollars, he said. But it could also save lives and thousands in insurance costs over the life of the house, he added.

"It's a safety thing, and therefore real expensive," Martir said. "In my own house, I don't have such a system, so if my kitchen catches fire and I'm not home, this house is gone. I would do it."

Vallejo's Chief Building Official Gary West said he hasn't seen the new code's exact wording and can therefore not yet offer details on its impact to home owners or builders.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation reports the cost nationally to install residential fire sprinklers in a new home is about $1.61 per square foot, Fire Sprinkler Association spokesman Joe Ferrary said. This is about 1 percent of the home's value, according to a FEMA benefit-cost analysis on residential fire sprinklers, he said.

"When the cost is spread over a 30-year mortgage, it comes down to less than the price of a cup of coffee per week," he said.

Vallejo Fire Capt. Dan Sarna said he thinks it's worth it.

"Anything that protects life and property -- that can save my family, my kid -- is a good thing," Sarna said. "The benefits far outweigh whatever downside there may be."

Fire sprinklers reduce deaths by fire and smoke inhalation and fire and smoke damage, Sarna said.

From a firefighter's perspective, making entry into a burning structure with no fire sprinklers is completely different than going into one with them, he said.

"It's not like anything you've seen on TV or in the movies," he said. "It's violent. It's one of the most violent atmospheres you can imagine."

Floor temperatures reach more than 250 degrees and with ceiling temperatures approaching 1,000 degrees, firefighters must actively avoid flashover, Sarna said. That's when extreme heat ignites trapped gasses, and it's what typically kills firefighters, he said.

"You don't just rush in. You're watching the smoke as you pull up -- what color is it? How is it moving?" he said. "What type of construction is it? All of that tells you something."

Firefighters go in low, he said.

"You always crawl in on the floor to make entry," Sarna said. "You can't see anything, so you go by feel. There's just a multitude of concerns. There's nothing to retard or suppress the fire before firefighters arrive."

It's different when there are fire sprinklers, he said.

"It's a whole different tactic," Sarna said. "You have to shut off the water to mitigate the water damage and make sure the fire didn't get into places the sprinklers don't reach. And there's a lot of water cleanup."

Several Bay Area cities already require residential fire sprinklers, said Fred Benn, owner of San Ramon's Advanced Automatic Sprinklers, Inc.

"Vallejo had such an ordinance in the '80s, but it was overturned in the '90s after the city was sued by the Home Builders Association," Benn said. "The court found the city couldn't impose regulations stricter than the state's."

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_15053399


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