firesprinkler.tv Fire sprinkler |
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firesprinkler.tv Fire sprinkler |
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If the state Legislature does nothing, fire sprinklers will have to be installed in new residential properties after Jan. 1, 2011, including single family homes and duplexes. The requirement does not apply to manufactured homes.
Insurance impact?
The state Department of Insurance does not take a position on pending legislation, but Ann Roberson, public information officer for the agency, said rate increases are possible.
If the Legislature votes to waive the sprinkler mandate, homeowners’ insurance rates for new construction could increase across the state, including for policyholders in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties. An estimate on premium increases is not available.
Roberson said only homeowners who move into a new home, or one that has been renovated, are expected to see an increase in homeowner’s insurance rates.
If the Legislature changes the fire sprinkler code requirement, it also could cause flood insurance rates to go up in coastal areas, Roberson said. That’s because of the complicated system by which some insurance companies, but not all, calculate insurance risk and insurance rates.
The state insurance department projects that policyholders in the city of Charleston, Beaufort County and Rockville could see a 5 percent increase in flood insurance premiums, she said. New flood insurance rates might apply to all homeowners, not just new ones. Still, it remains uncertain what, if any change might occur in insurance premiums.
On the flip side, Roberson said the sprinklers systems are expected to give homeowners a break in insurance rates of up to 15 percent.
Sen. David Thomas, R-Greenville, is worried about the long-term effects on the access and affordability of insurance in the state. Thomas, a longtime champion of fire sprinklers and a candidate for Congress, said the Legislature must evaluate the unintended consequences of the legislation to be sure that passing the legislation doesn’t lead to de facto increases for all.
Requirement vs. option
The debate pits home builders against fire safety officials.
South Carolina Fire Marshal John Reich said the state should require fire sprinklers in new homes. The rate of deaths in fires in the state is almost double the national average, and home sprinklers are one way to improve safety dramatically, he said.
A popular Cambria theater can finish the run of its current play, but must install a $32,000 fire-sprinkler system before staging another, fire safety officials have declared.
Cambria Fire Chief Mark Miller notified Pewter Plough Playhouse management Monday that he cannot extend the deadline past Feb. 28. Miller said that Art Trinidade, the county
Alexandria firefighters responded to 212 calls last year
Fire officials are hailing new state standards that require fire sprinklers in new homes, while some builders are criticizing what they call unnecessary costs to companies and consumers.
The California State Building Standards Commission recently unanimously approved building code changes that require fire sprinkler systems in all new one- and two-family homes and townhouses beginning January 2011.
The national average price to install home fire sprinklers is $1.61 per square foot, according to the Fire Protection Research Foundation. That amounts to an additional $3,220 for a 2,000-square-foot home.
Jason Nailon, investigator with the Apple Valley Fire Protection District, called getting automatic fire sprinklers into new residences a
The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) announces the 2010 schedule for both its traditional Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School as well as its new System Layout School for Residential One- & Two-Family Dwellings.
Four 2010 Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning Schools have been scheduled for February 22 - March 5, April 19-30, July 12-23, and October 11-22; in addition, three sessions of AFSA’s new System Layout School for Residential One- & Two-Family Dwellings will be held March 22-26, June 21-25, and August 23-27, 2010.
Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School
Designed to train a beginner to be productive immediately upon returning to work, AFSA’s Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School teaches the essential elements of system layout in accordance with NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems. It is geared toward those with no experience or those who need assistance with design.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated by PFA, but the origin was determined to be in the area of the RV’s engine.
Firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm at 8:03 p.m., and when crews arrived, they found smoke in the body shop and repair area of the business before discovering the burning RV, PFA said in a press release.
The RV suffered significant damage, PFA said, but the harm to the body shop was limited to minor smoke damage.
No one was injured during the fire, and the dealership opened for business Friday morning.
“This incident is just one example of the significant impact that fire sprinklers and suppression systems can have on the outcome of fires” said PFA Fire Marshal Kevin Wilson.
Mike Dellenbach, a co-owner at the dealership, said no one was in the building when the fire started. He also said he’s a “firm believer” in having sprinklers and the dealership had them installed in the late 1990s when the building was remodeled.
“This is kind of a first for us. I would have to say PFA responded and did a great job,” Dellenbach said.
He said most of the damage from the fire was to the RV and the paint booth will likely be salvaged.
Parkland College is hosting a webcast to discuss their new fire sprinkler system degree program.
Source: Parkland College Academy of Fire Sprinkler Technology — Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 7/22/2009 10:59:17 AM CDT
Champaign, Ill.-based Parkland College Academy of Fire Sprinkler Technology is hosting a webcast on July 23 about its new degree program, which begins this fall.
The program will offer students the opportunity to study and create blueprints for fire sprinkler systems. Properly installed sprinklers can save a building both energy and money, and can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gasses and toxic products. Parkland’s program is the world’s first on this subject, and students will become engineering technicians upon completion.
Thos looking for more information can register for the webcast to speak with the directors of engineering technology and work/study for the academy.
A malfunction in the flow switch that controls the sprinkler system at the Providence Place mall set off the mall
Sprinklers will not have to be installed in townhouses and apartments located in developments that already have been platted, the village board has decided.
The decision will apply to the four developments that already are under construction in Hampshire - Tuscany Woods Unit 1, Lakewood Crossing, Hampshire Highlands and Crown Community Development’s Prairie Ridge Neighborhood O - plus Crown’s Neighborhoods N and S.
Under changes to the building code approved by the board in November, the village will require sprinklers in almost all new buildings except single-family houses. The new code even requires the builder of a single-family home to offer that option to the home buyer.
But on the request of the company that has taken over sales of the unsold townhouses in Tuscany Woods, the board agreed that developments which already had their plats and annexation agreements approved before the new sprinkler rule should be exempt.
Village Administrator Eric Palm said that while “it appears the village could enforce a sprinkler ordinance” even in these subdivisions, the legal situation is cloudy.
He said the annexation and development agreement for Tuscany Woods Unit 1 “speaks more or less to the existing building codes (that were in force at the time the development was approved) being applicable.”
Tuscany Woods Unit 1’s original developer, Pasquinelli Homes, defaulted on a mortgage for the project, and the development was taken over by Park National Bank. Last spring, the bank hired Gladstone Builders to market the existing finished and partly finished homes and townhouses there.
Gladstone vice president Adam Dontz told the village board that putting in sprinklers would add about $10,000 to the cost of a 1,500-square-foot townhouse. But board members questioned whether that figure was accurate. Officials of the Hampshire Fire Protection District had estimated the cost at $1 to $3 per square foot before the code change was passed in November, and Trustee George Brust said during last week’s village board meeting that contractors tell him the cost is about $1.75 per square foot.
The new code already says sprinklers will not be required for existing residential buildings, unless they undergo a major remodeling.
Dontz said after the meeting that since the Tuscany Woods sales resumed, two buyers have signed contracts for townhouses there, but no final sales closings have taken place.
A county jail near Boston has been evacuated after officials say a group of inmates broke the sprinkler system and flooded the building.
Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola says several inmates at the Middlesex Jail in Cambridge became unruly Sunday morning after 15 of them were sent to area hospitals with flu-like symptoms.
DiPaola says some inmates broke the fire suppression system, setting off the sprinklers.
The Cambridge Fire Department asked the sheriff’s office to turn off the building’s power, and officials began evacuating the inmates by bus to other facilities.
It was not immediately clear where they were headed, or how long the jail would be closed.
The jail originally was built to house 160 prisoners, but has housed up to 400.