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Gov. Mark Sanford may have vetoed the fire sprinkler bill, but it may have the chance to be revived next week by the state legislature.

The sprinkler bill would have offered incentives to home owners and owners of commercial buildings that went up before sprinkler requirements.

The bill came after several tragic fires affected South Carolinians.

Kevin Dean, an attorney representing the families of the firefighters killed in the Sofa Super Store fire, said that sprinklers haven’t seen enough enforceability or requirements in South Carolina.

The bill was vetoed by Gov. Sanford after he said it would place the burden on the taxpayers.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said he’s almost certain lawmakers have enough votes to override Sanford’s veto.

Harrell said that the state should keep the bill based on incentive and not subsidy.

There is no better way for legislators across this state to honor the memory of the nine city of Charleston firefighters who tragically lost their lives in an inferno one year ago today than to resolve to overwhelmingly override the governor’s veto of potentially life-saving legislation.

The fire sprinkler bill isn’t as strong as we’d hoped for. It doesn’t, for example, force owners of commercial properties that predate sprinkler requirements, such as the Sofa Super Store where the nine firefighters died, to install this critical protection. It does, however, offer them financial incentives to do so.

While local governments wouldn’t be required to offer the fire sprinkler incentives, public pressure should see to that. Under the legislation’s local option provision, local governments would provide property tax credits of up to 25 percent of the cost of installing the sprinklers. State government would provide the same percentage of income tax credits. Utility fees associated with supplying water to the system would be restricted to actual costs.

As the governor noted in his veto message, he signaled his opposition to the tax incentive concept early in session. Conceding that the tax consequences of the bill that finally passed will be less than the original proposal, he continues to object to what he described as a “taxpayer-funded subsidy” of certain property owners. He also described the local option concept as “constitutionally suspect” under the equal protection provision because the income tax credits wouldn’t be available to all citizens.

Surely it can’t be credibly argued that the income tax credits should be available to those who are now legally required to install sprinklers, primarily in new business and commercial structures. The legislation is intended as an incentive to the owners of those commercial structures that were built before the sprinkler requirements and to homeowners who aren’t required to provide the protection. There’s certainly nothing unusual about local option laws either around the country or in this state. This state’s ‘blue laws’ that allow local governments to determine the terms of Sunday sales come to mind.

Legislators and fire officials have been actively trying for the past four years

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is notifying consumers, distributors and property owners of automatic fire sprinklers that bear a counterfeit UL Mark for the United States and Canada. Although marked with the word “Globe,” these sprinklers are not manufactured by Globe Fire Sprinkler Corp. and have not been evaluated for safety by UL. This information supersedes a public notice released by UL on July 14, 2006.

Name of Products:  GL 5651  Pendent type fire sprinklers
                   GL 5661  Upright type fire sprinklers
                   GL 5626  Horizontal Sidewall fire sprinklers
                   GL 5681  Concealed type fire sprinklers

Units: Unknown quantity

Date of Manufacture:  January of 2004 to present

Manufacturer: Unknown

Identification:

On the product: The word “Globe” appears on the product. Sprinklers with the counterfeit UL Mark are manufactured with a slot-head screw and Job F5 or Job FR glass bulb. Non-counterfeit UL-Listed sprinklers manufactured by Globe Fire Sprinkler Corp. contain a hex-head screw and a Job G5 or F3 glass bulb.

In addition, identifiable markings are found on the counterfeit sprinklers’ deflectors on the following models:

Pendent type automatic fire sprinkler

SSP, cULus in a circle, GL 5651, 2004, 155

Premier McGuinty and Minister Watson for delivering on a commitment to bring Ontario in line with all other provinces in having residential fire sprinklers in all residences that are four stories and higher. “This is an important milestone in saving lives,” said Al Speed, former Fire Chief of the City of Toronto and official spokesperson for Fire SAFE. “The government has recognized what many of us in the fire safety business have for a long time, sprinklers save lives and reduce risks for firefighters.”

Fire SAFE has advocated residential fire sprinklers for all residences including single and multi-family; apartments; condominiums and others since 2003. Several private member’s bills have been presented before the Legislature calling for provincial legislation for all new homes to have residential fire sprinklers. Bill 72 is currently before the Legislature having passed Second Reading and compliments the government’s announcement by allowing individual municipality to pass local by-laws requiring residential fire sprinklers in their community.

“With this announcement the government has the opportunity to make Ontario a leader in fire safety,” said Speed. “With our homes having more synthetics that burn hotter and faster, sprinklers can buy the extra time to allow seniors, children and the disabled to flee a burning building. We call on the government to make Bill 72 government legislation and extend fire safety to all Ontarians and not just those living in high rises.”

More than 220 North American jurisdictions currently have legislation in place making residential fire sprinkler systems mandatory. In Vancouver, where such systems have been mandated for 10 years, there has not been a single accidental fire fatality in a home where there is a properly installed and maintained residential fire sprinkler system.

Fire SAFE Ontario is a not for profit organization that has been working with a variety of organizations to promote, educate and advocate for residential fire sprinkler systems in Ontario.
/For further information: Ann Gallery
High View Communications
416-322-5897 or 416-859-5951
agallery@highviewcommunications.com

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.”

The National Fire Sprinkler Association, appointed Bruce Lecair regional manager for the western region, which includes California and Hawaii.

A 31-year veteran of the fire service, Lecair began his career as an Air Force Air National Guard Crash Rescue Specialist in 1976. He joined the Woodland (Calif.) Fire Department in 1979 and rose through the ranks to assistant chief. He served as fire marshal for seven and a half years and as training chief for three years.

During his tenure as fire marshal, Lecair served as co-chair of the fire equipment and devices committee and on the board of directors for the Northern California Fire Prevention Officer’s Association. He has made significant contributions to the fire prevention and protection industry including the development of a Citizens Emergency Response Team Program, and was involved in the code changes now contained in NFPA 25.

Lecair holds an associate degree in fire science, a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in emergency service administration.

“Bruce’s experience, training, education and energy will prove to be an asset not only for our association but for the industry as a whole and the sprinkler professionals of California and Hawaii,” said NFSA President, John Viniello. “We are confident in his ability to make an immediate impact on spreading the fire sprinkler concept.”