Law to Order Fire Sprinklers in New Homes Beaten 4 to 1

Faced with strong opposition from home builders, the City Council has backed off from a proposed ordinance that would require fire sprinklers in new single-family homes and duplexes.

Voting 4 to 1 against the proposal Monday, members of the council said this is not the right time to impose additional regulations that would make homes more expensive.

The proposal would have required fire sprinklers in houses and duplexes with floor areas of 3,600 square feet or more or if they were more than five minutes or 2.5 miles from the nearest fire station.

About 500 to 600 houses in the Tustin Ranch area would have been affected by the ordinance, according to Rick Brown of the city’s Building Department.

Brown said the city will maintain the current requirement for fire sprinklers in residences with floor areas larger than 6,000 square feet or more than two stories in height, and in all new triplexes or larger dwellings.

Councilwoman Leslie Anne Pontious, saying the council has been putting off such an ordinance for years now, voted for its adoption.

“There is a considerable savings to the city in fire protection costs,” Pontious said. “We have to look at it seriously and not continue to put it off.”

She said councils in the past have weighed similar proposals but have decided to table them.

“Timing is very bad,” Councilman Charles E. Puckett said. “We can look at it again in a couple of years.”

The County Fire Department urged the council to pass the ordinance as an amendment to the 1991 Uniform Fire Code. Fire sprinklers ultimately help the city save on fire protection costs, according to Fire Marshal Sam Husoe.

Husoe said home buyers like fire sprinklers as an option.

But members of the Building Industry Assn. argued that fire sprinklers in single-family houses and duplexes only make them less affordable for first-time buyers.

Kelly Sylvester, the BIA’s community affairs manager, said the council’s decision not to adopt the ordinance was a good one. “The market is in a slump,” she said. “The last thing the builders need is more regulations.”

Sylvester said fire sprinklers would add from $2,000 to $3,000 to the cost of a home.