NJ home fire suppression bill decried by South Jersey builders, lauded by fire officials

from nj.com

By Joe Green/South Jersey Times 
on March 04, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated March 04, 2013 at 7:35 PM

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South Jersey contractor Brad Haber has gone 0-4 on selling home fire suppression systems to new homeowners. While they still have a choice, he said, they’re just not interested in the sprinkler systems designed to quickly contain a fire.
And the principal of Medford-based Haber & Associates builders suspects the trend would continue when it comes to adding thousands of dollars to the cost of building a new home.
Nonetheless, it’ll be a moot point if New Jersey’s New Home Fire Safety Act passes in the Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie.
The bill, A1570, passed the Assembly in January by a 44-30 vote. It has since gone to a Senate committee, and a vote by the full Senate hasn’t been scheduled.
It would require all newly-built single and two-family homes to have a fire suppression system installed. Manufactured homes and those not connected to a public water system would be exempt.

Painful costs

National fire safety organizations say home sprinkler systems can increase the odds of survival for residents and firefighters. But several area contractors and a trade organization representing them say mandating such systems may add undue expenses to building, without making homes much safer, if at all.
“In single-family homes, you see fire sprinklers save property, not lives. Smoke detectors save lives,” Haber argued.
He contends the New Home Fire Safety Act, for builders, would mean mandated higher costs, passed on to buyers.
Haber said the homes he’s building tend to sell for about $190,000 to $260,000. Adding fire suppression systems costs an average of about $7,000, he added, but can range between $5,000 and $10,000.
For customers, he prices the systems close to the initial installation tally, basically to make up his cost, he said. Haber put a sprinkler system in a model home to show potential buyers how they work and what they can do.
He did so, he said, to prepare for the possible law.
“I decided to offer it to see if they’d buy it on their own,” he explained. “I’ll probably lose this battle (against the bill), so if the legislation passes, I want to be ready.”
Jay Cipriani, owner of Cipriani Builders in Woodbury, said sprinkler systems are needed more in older homes than in the new.
“The way homes are built today, they’re pretty safe,” Cipriani said, citing modern standards for electrical supply, fire stops and others features.
“I can certainly see installing suppression systems in older homes with olderheating systems and wiring. We’ve actually installed suppression systems in additions over the years.”
Putting sprinklers in new homes would be relatively easy, Cipriani said, but to installthem in old homes is a different story. The same is true for cost differences.
He said the cost of a sprinkler system in a new home could come to about $10,000. But for older houses, that figure could rise to $20,000 to $25,000, he said.
Cipriani said he understands that lawmakers aren’t targeting the older homes for suppression systems, given the prohibitive cost and difficulties.
“I think the legislators are trying to start somewhere,” he concluded, “so to do it in new homes is cheaper and a good place to start.”
Rick Van Osten, executive vice president of the Builders League of South Jersey, also understands why lawmakers are targeting new homes.
But the officer with the trade association representing contractors, lenders and others also said the New Home Fire Safety Act could pose a problem for homeowners and builders seeking to help the housing market rebound.
“With all that’s going on now, for somebody to come up with $6,000 or so, plus maintenance for a sprinkler system, can be a problem,” Van Osten argued.
Like Haber, he maintains that “smoke detectors save lives, while fire sprinklers save property.”
“If (the bill) is about saving lives, why not require it on existing homes?” Van Osten asked, while conceding the cost would be high.
And like the contractors, he didn’t discount the possibility sprinklers can save lives. But, he added, “You could probably save thousands of lives by lowering the speed limit on roadways to 35 miles per hour.”

Lifesavers nonetheless

Van Osten argues that deadly fires are more likely in older homes not built to current standards.
But Gloucester County Fire Marshal Ed Johnson disagrees. Johnson said he empathizes with fellow homeowners on the cost, but he insists sprinkler systems increase home safety.
“As a fire official, I like it because it does save lives,” he said. “As a homeowner, I’m a little leery of it.”
When asked if sprinklers increase the likelihood of survival in a fire, even beyond smoke detectors, Johnson said they do.
“In the middle of the night, a small fire gets to be a bigger fire before the smoke detector picks it up,” the fire marshal explained. “Sprinklers diminish the flames before firefighters arrive.”
Johnson also countered the argument that older homes are more dangerous.
“There are as many fire deaths in new homes as there are in old homes,” he said.
Lots of fires start in kitchens, he explained, echoing the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) statistics saying cooking is the leading cause of home fires.
“Whether you’re in an old home or a new home, a fire in a kitchen is a dangerous thing,” Johnson said.
Furthermore, he said, the synthetic materials used in home furnishings and other features have changed much over the years. Newer plastics, vinyls and other materials make home fires less predictable and possibly more dangerous, Johnson argued.
He added that, thus far, New Jersey fire code mandating sprinkler systems has applied to all except single- or two-family homes. Commercial buildings, apartment complexes and other structures already must have them installed.
Johnson is in line with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The USFA posts a position statement addressing home fire suppression systems overall.
“All homes should be equipped with smoke alarms and automatic fire sprinklers,” it states, “and families should prepare and practice emergency escape plans.”
The USFA contends that, when sprinklers alone are installed in a home, the chances of fatality in a fire drop by 69 percent. When only smoke alarms are installed, the chance of dying in a fire drops by 63 percent, the organization says.
And when both are installed, the fatality risk decreases by 82 percent, the USFA claims.
The agency also says sprinkler systems typically cost about $1.61 per square foot in new construction. At the recently average sized U.S. home of 2,400 square feet, that would come to $3,864.
And, the USFA projects, that price would hopefully drop as more people install sprinklers. Other savings can come from what the agency says are insurance rates ranging from 5 percent to 15 percent lower when the systems are installed.
Contact Joe Green at 856-845-3300 ext. 253 orjgreen@southjerseymedia.com