December 12, 2007, the North Carolina Building Code Council rejected a proposal to require sprinklers in single-family homes. The Council instead called for a broad, comprehensive fire-safety education program. “On behalf of our more than 18,000 member firms, the North Carolina Home Builders Association (NCHBA) applauds the Council’s action and supports the development of an effective public fire-safety education program,” said NCHBA President Paul Mullican.

The Council’s refusal to mandate residential sprinklers is consistent with a similar action taken earlier this year by the International Code Council (ICC) whose voting members, comprising building inspectors from around the country, rejected placing a requirement for residential sprinklers in the International Residential Code. Both the Council and the ICC found a significant number of unanswered substantive and technical questions regarding mandating residential sprinklers.

Arguments Against Residential Sprinklers 

The arguments against requiring sprinklers in one- and two-family residences are many and persuasive:

• Smoke alarms and education, not mandates for home fire sprinklers, are the most practical, effective, and proven approach to reducing home fire incidents, injuries, and fatalities.
• Building requirements for new homes adequately provide for fire safety for the life of the home, and new homes do not become more hazardous as they age.
• Sprinkler installation costs are far greater than what advocates state, and there are no data to support that mandatory requirements are a cost effective approach to reducing fire incident, injuries, and fatalities.
• Annual sprinkler costs (exclusive of maintenance costs) that new homebuyers will be forced to pay will greatly exceed property loss nationwide or in any jurisdiction where they are required.
• Significant technical problems still exist regarding residential sprinklers.
• Homebuyers should not be forced to pay for systems they do not want and that will not significantly improve their safety.
• The action in 2007 by the government voting members of the ICC to defeat mandatory sprinkler requirements for one- and two-family dwellings should be honored.

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