New Law Proposed: Sprinklers for Larchmont?

( November 4, 2002) When a fire starts in a home, people’s first fears are for personal safety. “How can I get everyone out of the house alive and unharmed?” The second thoughts are about the mess. “What’s going to happen to my home, my things, my valuable and invaluable possessions?”

A new law proposed by Village Trustee and Volunteer Firefighter Mike Wiener (see Draft: Sprinkler Law) would address both concerns by mandating installation of fire suppressing sprinklers in new home construction and major renovations. Wiener explained that smoke detectors and sprinklers both provide warnings, but the sprinklers go the next step and start containing the fire. “Having the fire contained gives you the extra time to get out of the house,” he said. “Small children and the elderly need that extra time.”

Insusrance companies back residential sprinklers. Tom Broderick, agent for State Farm Insurance in Larchmont said, "Most insurance compainies will give a 10% reduction if the entire house is sprinklered."

“It’s a great law," asserted Larchmont Fire Chief Brian Payne, who has been following the law as it has been under development. “Anything that’s going to increase fire and life safety in the Village, the Fire Department will support and we hope the Board supports it as well.” (See November 4, 2002 Village Board Meeting for more discussion of the bill's merits.)

“This is revolutionary,” declared Glenn Corbett, Professor of Fire Science at CUNY’s John Jay College. It was just this May that the National Fire Protection Association adopted a brand new building code which includes requiring sprinklers in one and two family homes. According to Corbett, very few municipalities have similar laws.

“It certainly makes sense,” he said. “The majority of people who die in fires, die in residential fires specifically. You’d be targeting the problem, at least for new construction.”

And that’s the problem, according to the National Association of Home Builders. New homes are the least likely to benefit from sprinklers, according to the NAHB, because they conform to stringent new codes that mandate, for example, use of fire retardant materials not found in older homes. The Association is particularly against local changes to uniform state codes; lack of uniformity creates complications for builders operating in multiple jurisdictions. (Read more at the Connecticut Assoctions's website.)

New York State may also look unkindly on local changes to its brand-new building codes, which don't even go into effect until the end of the year. To gain necessary New York State approval, the law's backers must: 1. prove its value; 2. prove it to be stricter than existing code; and 3. prove it is not burdensome to the residents.

In addition to New York State approval, the law's backers are seeking to overcome resistance from area residents. A sceptical homeowner might ask the following types of questions:

What about the mess? Wiener pointed out that a sprinkler only goes off in the location of extreme heat. A smoky turkey won’t set one off. Furthermore, only the sprinkler heads near the heat go off, so there will not be water all over the house.

Wiener explained that residential sprinklers only put out about 5 gallons per minute, which is sufficient to extinguish or contain the fire. When the firefighters arrive, typically within three to four minutes in Larchmont, they may not need to use much additional water to bring the situation under complete control. Containing the fire early-on tends to increase safety and reduce damage.

What about the cost? The new law would only apply to new homes, or to major additions (adding 50% or more to a house.) Adding sprinklers to existing spaces would be prohibitively expensive, agreed Wiener. But installation is much less costly when a space is under construction, he noted.

Estimates vary, but adding sprinklers tends to come to about 1% of new construction, according to Wiener.

Said Chief Payne, “It may add a slight cost to new construction, but there’s no way to value the early containment of a fire or the saving of lives.”

Why now? Trustee Wiener conceded that there isn’t much space for new residential construction in Larchmont at this point. There are “tear downs” and large additions, however. For Wiener, even if the law applies to only a few homes, “Every house that’s done is another house protected.”

Send this page to a friend

Discuss this topic in our forums, or send a letter to the editors.