After four fire deaths last weekend, fire inspector calls for mandatory sprinklers

from carolinalive.com


by April Baker
Posted: 04.24.2014 at 12:12 AM

Fire sprinklers could have saved lives in the two deadly fires that happened on the Grand Strand over the weekend, according to Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire Inspector Gary Mocarski.

He said neither of the residential units that burned had a fire sprinkler system.

On Saturday, fire tore through a condo unit in Murrells Inlet, and two people died. 

"If the condo had had sprinklers there would be two more people alive today. I am 99 or more percent certain," Mocarski said.

A second fire broke out at a single-family home on Calhoun Drive in Garden City on Sunday. Again, there were two deaths in that fire.

"They would have had water flowing. They would have had a fire sprinkler going off and increase their chances of survival or at least their chances of staying put until they were rescued," said Mocarski.

Mocarski said when these two residential units were built, the law didn't require them to have fire sprinklers.

Since then, the state's law has changed, at least for the condo building.

The State of South Carolina adopted an International Building Code in 2003 that requires all multi-family homes to have sprinkler systems.

Single families-homes in the state built to date are not required to have sprinkler systems.

It's something Mocarski has been fighting for homes in our area to have, but there's nothing that can be done on a local level about it.

"We cannot adopt as community as a city as county anything more restrictive than what the state has. So, Horry County, Georgetown County, Murrells Inlet Garden City fire district, City of Myrtle Beach, nobody can adopt a code that says put fire sprinklers in a residence," Mocarski said.

Mocarski said he will be working to get the state's building code revised to make fire sprinklers a requirement in single-family homes.

He also encourages single-family home owners who don't have sprinkler systems to make sure their smoke detectors are working, and there is an escape plan in place.

Pennsylvania needs to mandate residential fire sprinklers: PennLive letters

from pennlive



By Letters to the Editor 
on April 16, 2014 at 8:25 AM

In the first three months of 2014, Pennsylvania has lost 51 residents to the ravages of fire. These numbers are among the highest in the nation during that time period. Fire does not discriminate, and can strike at any time and in any type of home.

This year, through April 1 in the United States, there have been 909 reported civilian fatalities due to fire incidents and 33 fatalities of on-duty firefighters. In 2012, the latest year for which we have official data, property loss was estimated at $9.8 billion in structure fires alone.

Despite all of this loss across the country, states including Pennsylvania are still resisting the concept of installing residential fire sprinkler systems in newly constructed one and two-family homes. Instead, they rely solely on smoke alarms to keep their constituents safe.

While working smoke alarms are an effective way to alert residents to a fire, they require residents to take action and can do nothing to prevent the spread of fire. Our most vulnerable citizens, including children, the elderly and the disabled, may not be able to respond to alarms as others might. Fire sprinklers can protect lives and property by immediately reacting, controlling and even extinguishing a fire.

We urge all citizens to check the batteries in their smoke alarms, educate themselves on the current fire protection requirements, and learn how to protect themselves and their loved ones from the dangers of fire.

RUSSELL FLEMING, President, National Fire Sprinkler Association, Patterson, N.Y.

Sprinkler Mandate Poses Question Of Cost Vs. Safety

from wics

A new mandate from the State Fire Marshal is being debated at the Statehouse.  Those opposed to new regulations are hoping lawmakers will make the final decision in this battle between the State Fire Marshal and home builders.

While organizations and lawmakers point out the thousands of dollars this mandate could potentially cost home builders, fire fighters here and across the state, ask, can you put price on a life-saving device?  That's the question being debated in the House.

The State Fire Marshal is pushing for a mandate that would force the installation of fire sprinklers in all new home construction.

"Life safety is huge and if we can prevent the fire, or hold the fire in check, prior to the fire department's arrival, that gives our citizens a better chance to escape that building that may be on fire," said Springfield Fire Chief Ken Fustin.

But, some area organizations are calling the mandate unnecessary.

"The homes built today all have smoke detectors that are wired and we have the national statistics that show that 99.4% of lives are saved because you're awake, you're woken up, you get out of the house," said Dean Graven, representative with the Springfield Area Home Builders Association.

They also call it unfair.

"You're looking at a minimum of $6,000, to as much as $15,000, to have that put in,"  said Graven.

In fact, Graven says, the smaller the town you're building in, the more your cost goes up.

"Small communities:  Auburn, Pleasant Plains, even Chatham, they do not have the water pressure... to support it... you would have to have, not only a fire sprinkler, but you'd have to have an electric generator, gas powered, and you'd have to have booster pumps, so that's why these costs just keep mounting," said Graven.

But Fustin says the Fire Marshal's office has calculated the estimated cost differently.

"Fire Marshall's office has stated figures of about $1.60 to $1.70 per square foot that would be added to the cost of a new home," said Fustin, which adds up to a much smaller number than home builders quote.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are against the mandate.

"The cost of the sprinklers will actually keep a lot of people from building a home," said Rich Brauer, Republican Representative from District 87. 

So, they've drawn up a bill to fight it.

"We don't think this is really feasible to put this mandate, on business, on new home construction," said Brauer.

Fire Chief Ken Fustin says this bill is attempting to strip the Fire Marshal of his ability to implement the requirement of fire sprinklers in new homes, which shouldn't be allowed to happen, because he believes, above all else, should come the safety of the citizens.

One thing that neither the bill, nor the mandate, covers is the safety of older homes. 

Since the use of hard wired smoke alarms, newer homes have been made more safe, but many older homes still use battery-operated devices, which could be riskier for residents.