Bob G. Caputo

On September 21, 2008 the International Code Council (ICC) adopted amendment RB64-07/08 to the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC). This amendment mandates that beginning January 1, 2011 all new one and two family residential dwellings along with townhomes be equipped with fire sprinklers.

First and foremost, I have to admit that I’m a passionate fire and life safety guy who believes these changes are long overdue. The fact of the matter is that the fire losses in the United States are staggering in terms of the lives and property we lose each year. Because the losses occur in one’s and two’s every day, rather than a few catastrophic events each month, they go largely ignored by the national media and under the radar of most Americans. Over a decade ago I heard a keynote speaker address a sprinkler trade association’s annual convention where he noted that the national yearly losses caused by fires in single family dwellings alone is the same number of people we would lose if two 747 jet airliners collided over the U.S. every month. He asked rhetorically if we thought there would be a change in the way flights were scheduled or flown if that actually happened twice in a year, let alone every month for years. You could have heard a pin drop.

In my twenty plus years lobbying for and promoting fire sprinkler installations, I’ve heard opponents talk about the cost versus the benefit and focus on the fact that today’s construction is safer than older homes with more electrical outlets and better circuit breakers, etc. Let’s be clear and factual, the three greatest causes of fires in the home are men, women and children. Yes, there are electrical fires and they account for about 15% of fire ignition sources according to statistics. However, unattended candles, smoking materials and cooking equipment account for the lion’s share of ignition sources; In other words people driven, not mechanical.

At some point along the way, society accepted the fact that we were going to wear a seat belt while driving our cars. Many of us hated that and some people still don’t buckle up today.
Regardless, our laws caught up with the financial reality that way too many people were dying or injured beyond where they would be had they just buckled up. The cost was too great not to impose this new law in the face of proven factual data. There can be no mistake that we are at the same point with residential fire sprinklers and all of the fighting, legal wrangling and attempts to roll-back the codes to avoid accepting the inevitability of this new mandate are ridiculous. Fifty years from now, no one will want to live in a home without fire sprinklers.

Pennsylvania has been a leader in this effort, becoming one of the first states to adopt the 2009 IRC, which includes the residential fire sprinkler requirements that will take effect January 1, 2011. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA) have made several attempts to block the sprinkler requirement. When voted on by the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) Review and Advisory Council the sprinkler requirements were upheld. Further legislative attempts by NAHB and PBA have been denied. The latest attempt is PBA’s filing of an application for summary relief which will be heard during a June session. Despite these attempts, the 2009 IRC is in effect today in Pennsylvania and the residential fire sprinkler requirement is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2011.

Realistically, we should expect the majority of these systems to be plumbing systems as opposed to stand alone fire sprinkler systems in the traditional sense of the term. By that I mean that many piping systems will be multipurpose piping systems supplying water to plumbing fixtures and fire sprinkler nozzles, through a shared plumbing system. As such, the work is more likely to be performed by the residential plumbing contractor than a stand-alone fire sprinkler contractor.

With the current state of our economy and the market conditions, most plumbers will be happy to accept the challenges and opportunities this new legislation brings to their doorsteps. But, what is it they say about no free lunches? Business related considerations such as licensing and insurance must be addressed and proper training must be obtained to ensure this work is performed correctly. Fire Smarts and Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC) association are working together to deliver training programs geared to take experienced plumbers and add the skill set for residential fire sprinkler installation. As you consider this opportunity for your business invest in training to understand these systems and the codes that govern them. While these systems are pipe and fittings, there life safety application includes requirements and liability beyond typical domestic plumbing.

Bob Caputo is a Fire Smarts Faculty member with more than 25 years experience in the fire protection community. He has been an instructor since 1989, teaching seminars for NFPA and the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA). He holds a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) designation, fire sprinkler contracting licenses in multiple states, and serves on the NFPA 13 Installation and NFPA 25 Committees.