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| Jan Keller owns her own business, Antifire Protection Ltd, which she runs out of her home in unincorporated Marengo. She designs and installs residential sprinkler systems. (Daniel J. Murphy – dmurphy@shawmedia.com ) |
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To Huntley Fire Protection District Chief James Saletta, mandating sprinklers in new homes is a good idea that saves lives.
To homebuilder and instructor Tom Stephani, it’s yet another Illinois feel-good idea that would only succeed in lowering the risk of the housing market’s recovery.
And with news that Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis will soon formally ask a General Assembly committee to impose the rule statewide, both sides are getting ready to make their voices heard.
Saletta, a member of the fire marshal’s advisory board, says it’s a common-sense and affordable way to limit damage and save lives. The Huntley Fire Protection District approved the mandate at the same time as the village, so new homes built in unincorporated areas covered by the district must comply.
“They are the most effective way of controlling a fire in a home, reducing damage, saving lives and in a lot of cases, minimizing the risks that firefighters take going into a burning building,” Saletta said.
Stephani, who owns Custom Construction Concepts in Crystal Lake and is the state representative for the National Association of Home Builders, disagrees. Safety, Stephani said, is a function of new and safer construction and smoke detectors, not mandated sprinklers.
While 30 other states have rejected imposing such a mandate, Stephani said he worries that Illinois, a “nanny state that wants to protect everybody from everything,” may be the exception.
“It’s consumer choice. It’s not needed. Statistics show there’s not a screaming need out there for safety. It’s not a problem,” Stephani said.
Residential sprinklers are similar to their industrial counterparts. The heat of a fire melts a bulb that holds back water from the system. Home sprinklers are more recessed into the ceiling, and the activation of one does not set off the others.
Only two states, California and Maryland, have a statewide law requiring residential sprinklers in new homes. Pennsylvania enacted a mandate effective in January 2011, but repealed it four months later.
In Illinois, like other states, it’s up to municipal governments to decide. It’s an issue that more of them have been forced to address – most municipalities adopt the International Residential Code developed by the International Code Council as their own standards, and the code as of 2009 included residential sprinklers for new homes.
To homebuilder and instructor Tom Stephani, it’s yet another Illinois feel-good idea that would only succeed in lowering the risk of the housing market’s recovery.
And with news that Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis will soon formally ask a General Assembly committee to impose the rule statewide, both sides are getting ready to make their voices heard.
Saletta, a member of the fire marshal’s advisory board, says it’s a common-sense and affordable way to limit damage and save lives. The Huntley Fire Protection District approved the mandate at the same time as the village, so new homes built in unincorporated areas covered by the district must comply.
“They are the most effective way of controlling a fire in a home, reducing damage, saving lives and in a lot of cases, minimizing the risks that firefighters take going into a burning building,” Saletta said.
Stephani, who owns Custom Construction Concepts in Crystal Lake and is the state representative for the National Association of Home Builders, disagrees. Safety, Stephani said, is a function of new and safer construction and smoke detectors, not mandated sprinklers.
While 30 other states have rejected imposing such a mandate, Stephani said he worries that Illinois, a “nanny state that wants to protect everybody from everything,” may be the exception.
“It’s consumer choice. It’s not needed. Statistics show there’s not a screaming need out there for safety. It’s not a problem,” Stephani said.
Residential sprinklers are similar to their industrial counterparts. The heat of a fire melts a bulb that holds back water from the system. Home sprinklers are more recessed into the ceiling, and the activation of one does not set off the others.
Only two states, California and Maryland, have a statewide law requiring residential sprinklers in new homes. Pennsylvania enacted a mandate effective in January 2011, but repealed it four months later.
In Illinois, like other states, it’s up to municipal governments to decide. It’s an issue that more of them have been forced to address – most municipalities adopt the International Residential Code developed by the International Code Council as their own standards, and the code as of 2009 included residential sprinklers for new homes.
