By Max Seigle

When a house goes up in flames like this one, firefighters race to the call with their hoses. But there’s another sort of hose that Belvidere could make a permanent fixture at home. “Most of the time one sprinkler or two will control and contain a fire and stop it from spreading.” Belvidere Fire Chief David Worrell is among the supporters of a proposed law heading to the Belvidere city council next week. It would require fire sprinklers in all new residential housing.

The chief says he’s not aware of these sprinklers in any local homes today. And adding them would provide an extra hand to his department. “With the growth, we’re getting back-to-back calls, it’s stretching our manpower thin,” Worrell said. But not everyone is board with this proposed law.

There’s opposition from those building these new subdivisions. “You want to be able to sell a home that people can afford to buy. You’ve limited your market now,” said Dennis Sweeney, President of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Rockford. Sweeney argues a fire sprinkler is an added cost that homebuyers should make themselves, not a municipality. “If a homeowner feels like they need the added protection, they always have the option of instructing their builder to install a sprinkler system,” Sweeney said. Sweeney also says new housing already comes with effective fire safeguards.

But Chief Worrell says a sprinkler can be even better. “It’s like having your own personal firefighter in your house,” Worrell said. The Belvidere City Council gets its first look at this proposed law at its Monday night board meeting. Further discussion on the issue is expected in the following weeks. We also checked in with Rockford and Freeport. They have no laws requiring fire sprinklers in homes.

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