The Residential Fire Sprinklers Code has passed!
See the article “ICC Approves Residential Fire Sprinklers in the International Residential Code“
With the International Code Council (ICC) hearings in progress at the Minneapolis Convention Center, September 14-23, 2008, the Wall Street Journal featured the article Mandating Fire Sprinklers for the Home. This timely article puts residential fire sprinklers in the national spotlight as a critical vote approaches.
Starting on the evening of September 20, 2008, members of the ICC will vote on the proposed amendment to the International Residential Code (IRC) that, if passed, will require the installation of residential fire sprinkler systems in all one and two family houses and townhouses.
Over the last several years the support for residential fire sprinklers has been gaining momentum as hundreds of cities and counties adopt local ordinances requiring their use. The Residential Fire Safety Institute, a nonprofit that promotes fire safety, says it has a record of 400 counties and cities that have passed ordinances requiring sprinklers. Eight years ago, that number was only 200, says Roy Marshall, the organization’s director. He adds that “most of the movement has happened in the last two or three years.”
While local ordinance adoption has been a huge step forward for the fire protection community, adopting of residential fire sprinkler requirements in the IRC takes home fire protection to an entirely new level. The IRC is the model code governing residential construction in 46 states plus the District of Columbia. Once residential fire sprinkler requirements are included in the IRC it will be a challenging uphill battle for opponents to get the requirement removed at the city or county level.
The push for amending the IRC is headed by the IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition, which has the backing of more than 100 national, state and local organizations including the IAFC, IAFF, NVFC and the National Association of State Fire Marshals.
We are at a pivotal point in home fire protection. Considering the high number of home deaths and injuries currently experienced in the United States, this code change has the power to alter the future of public safety.
“If the sprinkler resolution passes so that the IRC requires residential fire sprinklers in all new homes, in the next few years we will see a transformation in the fire sprinkler industry like no other to date”, says Ryan J. Smith, President of Fire Smarts, LLC. “Home fire deaths and injuries will start to decline and the fire sprinkler industry will experience a rapid growth in demand that will be a welcomed challenge to it’s already limited supply of skilled labor.”
The supporters of residential fire sprinkler requirements have good reason to be optimistic. The last time this proposal was voted on it missed a 2/3 majority vote by only less than 100 votes. This time, thanks to the unifying effort of the IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition, attendance from voting members of the ICC that support the proposal should be at an all-time high.
Thousands of individuals wait anxiously for this weekend when the final vote for the 2009 edition of the International Residential Code takes place…hopefully confirming once and for all that residential fire sprinklers are essential life safety devices for all homes.
It may be of interest to you that on the Internet you can view a webcast of the hearing from the comfort of your home. While there is little entertainment value here, you do have an opportunity to watch the course of home fire protection forever change.