from nbc-2.com
By Steve Campion, Reporter - email
CAPE CORAL, FL -
There is a reenergized effort to put fire sprinklers in every newly built Cape Coral home.
NBC2 learned Tuesday morning supporters plan to present the ordinance to city leaders in late March. They say without the mandated move a fire can easily spread and endanger the most vulnerable like senior citizens and children.
But other construction industry experts pushed back and told us the added expense could kill the American dream of homeownership for some buyers.
Inside Vietnam veteran Jim Shannon's southeast Cape Coral home Tuesday afternoon, he worried about the "what-ifs."
"At night if there is a fire and I'm in bed, I can't get out," Shannon said.
He said the hard-to-spot and recently installed new fire sprinklers washed away his worst fears.
"It was a no-brainer," Shannon remarked. "The sprinkler system absolutely protects you. It protects everything."
Harbor Island Construction's Sam Davis helped to make the upgrade, which cost several thousand dollars, possible for Shannon.
"The need for this is to give people another 10 or 15 minutes to get out of a fire," Davis said.
The builder wants Cape Coral to require him and other contractors to install fire sprinklers in every new single family home for safety.
"How do you replace your child? You can't," Davis said.
While no one disputes the added safety of security, construction experts fear a rigid requirement could stall growth in a struggling economy.
"Mandatory is a tough one to swallow," said Moe Beneke with Cape Coral Construction Industry Association. "If it was just safety, there's not a person in our industry who wouldn't say yes...but it's more than that."
In her office Tuesday afternoon, Beneke stressed the added costs could price out some new homeowners. She battled back against the effort and stressed sprinklers should be a consumer's choice.
"Someone who wants a fire sprinkler system will buy a fire sprinkler system. That is their prerogative. It is the person who can't," said Beneke.
A vote on the proposed ordinance could come as early as April.
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