TUSTIN : Action Postponed on Sprinkler Law

The City Council has delayed action on a proposed ordinance that would require new single-family homes and duplexes to have fire sprinklers.

In postponing the ordinance, members of the council said they needed more time to study its ramifications. Several home builders protested against it during a public hearing Monday.

The council is expected to consider the ordinance at its next meeting June 7.

Officials said sprinklers are needed to help detect and control fire as well as provide up-to-date protection against loss of life and property. Under the proposed ordinance, fire sprinklers would be required in new single-family homes and duplexes with floor areas of 3,600 square feet or more.

Fire Marshal Sam Husoeof the Orange County Fire Department said recent studies have shown that the majority of fires occur in single homes and duplexes. In residences protected by automatic sprinklers, 91% are controlled or extinguished by one sprinkler head, he said.

Husoe told the council Monday that a study by the National Fire Protection Assn., a nonprofit agency, found that 80% of the deaths in fires occur in residences.

Opponents say that fire sprinklers are costly and that requiring them in single-family homes and duplexes would be too expensive. A typical sprinkler system costs from $3,000 to $4,000, they said.

Opponents argued to the council that new homes are relatively safe and not fire hazards. Kelly Sylvester of the Building Industry Assn. said a nationwide survey by her organization recently showed that more than 90% of fatal residential fires occur in structures more than 10 years old.

“It should also be noted that today’s new homes have additional safeguards, such as hard wire smoke detectors and flame retardant roofing,” Sylvester said.

Husoe said that while a smoke alarm can alert occupants to a fire, it does not prevent, stop or extinguish it. Automatic sprinklers prevent the fire from spreading and thus allow occupants to escape from the blaze safely, he said.

Brice H. Kittle of California Pacific Homes said it would be better to require fire sprinklers on a case-by-case basis.

“We work with the Fire Department, and whenever they say a fire sprinkler would be necessary, we comply,” he said. “But we don’t want it to be mandated.”

Mayor Jim Potts said he is concerned about false alarms that may trigger the automatic sprinklers and cause water damage.

“I don’t want my house to burn, but I don’t want it to be flooded either,” he said.

Husoe said that typically fire sprinklers are set off at a temperature of 165 degrees and that, because of advances in technology, they have been found to work without much error.