| Home Fire Sprinklers: A Progress Update |
 Home Fire Sprinklers: A Progress Update By By Jeffrey M. Shapiro, P.E., FSFPE | Fire Protection Engineering Four
years have passed since the January 1, 2011, effective date established
by the International Residential Code (IRC) for newly constructed homes
to have fire sprinkler systems, and while adoption of this requirement
at the state and local level has trailed initial expectations,
measurable progress has been and continues to be made. Two states,
California and Maryland, plus the District of Columbia and many other
jurisdictions have adopted the IRC requirement, and the state of
Minnesota recently enacted a statewide adoption applicable to all new
homes that are 4,500 square feet or larger in area (including the
basement). Progress with townhouses has been even better, with 10 state
codes now requiring newly constructed townhouses to have fire
sprinklers. Based on a review of
U.S. Census Bureau data, it is reasonable to estimate that the number of
newly built homes being equipped with fire sprinklers is now in the 10
percent range, and contrary to dire predictions made by sprinkler
opponents, no evidence of an adverse effect on home affordability or the
new home construction market has been identified in any state or
jurisdiction where sprinkler systems are now required. In
fact, some builders in jurisdictions where fire sprinklers are required
even highlight sprinklers as their top safety/security feature in
marketing materials, recognizing the fact that sprinklers are a major
incentive for purchasing a new home versus an existing unsprinklered
home. One builder stated "New homes with fire sprinklers make existing
homes obsolete.” Do buyers really
care whether a home has a fire sprinkler system? A recent Harris poll
suggests that the answer is increasingly "yes,” with the trend of public
opinion clearly moving towards home buyers wanting a home with fire
sprinklers. In a May 2014 poll of more than 1,000 U.S. homeowners, which
was commissioned by the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition under a federal
Fire Prevention & Safety grant, 74 percent of U.S. homeowners said
they would be more likely to buy a home with fire sprinklers than one
without. That’s nearly double the 38 percent who answered similarly in a
poll conducted in 2005. Another
interesting trend, but a disturbing one, that has emerged in recent
years is the increasing number of residential fire fatalities occurring
in homes with working smoke alarms but lacking sprinklers. National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) data shows that, for the period from 1999
to 2001, 30 percent of fire fatalities occurred in homes with a working
smoke alarm. That number increased to 37 percent for 2003 to 2006, and
was most recently documented at 40 percent for 2007 to 2011. Although
smoke alarms are an essential life-safety feature, those who argue that
smoke alarms alone will protect occupants in a home fire are ignoring
the fact that modern construction practices and synthetic furnishings
have dramatically reduced safe evacuation times for residential
structures. With the window of time between operation of a smoke alarm
and the onset of untenable conditions becoming shorter, young, elderly,
and impaired occupants who need extra time to successfully evacuate a
burning home clearly need the extra protection provided by sprinklers. The
road to all new homes being sprinklered will be a long one, not unlike
the experience with smoke alarms. For years, home builders fought smoke
alarm mandates. But eventually, opposition subsided, and builders today
are perhaps the most vocal advocates for smoke alarms, which have
evolved to become a standard feature of a home’s electrical system. As
costs drop and consumer demand becomes more evident, builder opposition
to sprinklers will likewise eventually fade. 
The state
of Maryland serves as a good model of how a jurisdiction can evolve from
a statewide townhouse sprinkler requirement to all new homes being
sprinklered. Maryland began requiring all townhouses to have sprinklers
many years ago, followed by some counties enacting ordinances requiring
all new homes to be sprinklered. By the time the IRC sprinkler
requirement was proposed for statewide adoption, the state already had
an infrastructure of installing contractors and material suppliers, and
many builders had become experienced and comfortable with incorporating
sprinklers into new homes. It’s
important to point out that the debate over whether to require
townhouses to be sprinklered is significantly different than the debate
related to one- and two-family dwellings. From a safety perspective,
townhouses are multifamily structures that include many unrelated
individuals and families living under a single roof. The fire safety of
every family is reliant on the behavior of others, i.e., one neighbor’s
carelessness directly impacts everyone else’s safety, and there have
been many incidents where a fire in one townhouse unit had catastrophic
consequences on neighbors who had nothing to do with the cause of the
fire. Townhouses also place significantly increased demand on emergency
responders as compared to detached dwellings because of their size and
complexity. 
Prior
to the 2009 edition, the IRC didn’t include an allowance to reduce the
fire rating of townhouse separation walls from two-hours to one-hour,
which had been permitted by the IBC. Avalon Bay Communities proposed
adding the IBC wall reduction to the IRC with the quid pro quo of adding
the IBC’s requirement to sprinkler all townhouses. Avalon Bay
Communities knew that the savings associated with the reduced wall
rating alone typically equaled or exceeded the cost of installing
sprinklers. When combined with other incentives offered by the IFC for
access roads and water supply, the company knew that they could actually
save money by sprinklering townhouses. 
Our
experience with smoke alarms serves as a good guide. Even though we knew
that more lives would be saved by providing hardwired, interconnected
alarms in common areas and each bedroom, early smoke alarm requirements
were satisfied by a single battery-powered unit for an entire household.
As technology improved, costs declined, and consumer awareness grew, we
eventually achieved the much higher level of safety that we have today. With
the IRC and NFPA codes now requiring fire sprinklers in all new
residential occupancies, including one- and two-family homes, many of
our children will question why anyone would build an unsprinklered home
just as we question today why anyone would want to build a home without
smoke alarms. That’s a day that all of us in the fire protection
engineering profession should look forward to. For more information on home fire sprinklers, visit homefiresprinkler.org and ircfiresprinkler.org.  |
