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Ontario should mandate sprinkler systems for all new homes, a local fire prevention officer said in response to new provincial rules requiring the devices in high-rises.
Greg Nicol said the government should tweak the Ontario Building Code even more by forcing contractors of new houses no matter the size to install sprinkler systems.
“It didn’t go far enough, it needs to go further,” said the Owen Sound fire department member. “There is significant benefits to installing them in homes.”
But an official with the Ontario Home Builders’ Association said the decision to install sprinkler systems should be up to the new home’s owner, not the government.
The province announced building code changes Tuesday which require all new condominiums and apartments taller than three storeys to be outfitted with sprinkler systems as of spring 2010. Sprinklers are now only required in facilities like nursing homes, jails and hospitals.
The changes bring Ontario in line with other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States.
Nicol said the new rules will have little impact on construction projects in Owen Sound.
A bill that could more directly impact Owen Sound builds passed second reading in the Ontario legislature three weeks ago. The Municipal Residential Sprinkler Act would give municipalities the power to pass bylaws requiring fire sprinklers in all new residential buildings. It still requires a third reading.
Brian Green, Owen Sound’s chief building official, said if the bill becomes law he will recommend city council make sprinkler systems mandatory in all new homes. Existing houses would not be affected.
Green, a member of a group advocating for sprinklers in all new homes, said the government announcement is a “step in the right direction.”
Sprinkler systems use less than a tenth of the water fire departments spray, he said, “so you have less property damage and less water and no loss of life, so it’s bonuses all around.”
Tags: fire sprinkler code, Fire sprinklers, Local Officials Say, New Ontario Fire Sprinkler Law Not Tough Enough, sprinkler