Maryland lawmakers held a hearing Tuesday to determine if counties can opt out of a new state law requiring all newly constructed homes be equipped with sprinkler systems. The goal is saving lives, but some builders and homeowners say it's too expensive.
“The building I was in did have a sprinkler system, which contained the fire,” said James Hillman, who survived a fire at a Prince George’s County body shop three years ago and credits sprinklers for saving his life. “I was the only one who had major burns, so it helped a lot of my coworkers not sustain any of these injuries.”
In Annapolis Tuesday, a committee hearing was packed with firefighters who support the state requirement that new construction must include fire sprinklers.
“Having residential sprinklers gives that early intervention to save lives to get those folks out of the house, and it's also saving firefighters with the light construction, these houses are starting to collapse much sooner,” State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci said.
But the housing industry wants counties on the Eastern Shore and in western Maryland to be able to opt out of the state requirement. Builders want sprinkler systems to be optional because they say some people in rural areas can't afford the extra costs for construction and water supply.
“Permits have dropped dramatically in that area since this mandate took effect,” said David Reel, of Manufactured Housing Institute of Maryland. “The market is slowly recovering from the great downturn. This is just chopping the legs out from people that need and want affordable housing.”
Builders say smoke detectors are almost as effective as sprinklers, which can cost $6,000 to $20,000 to install.
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"I know businesses that have closed because they aren't selling homes, and up in the rural areas where they’re so close to Pennsylvania and West Virginia, you’re finding that those people are moving out of state," said Larry Checca, of Manufactured Housing Institute of Maryland.
In January 2015, a massive house fire in Annapolis caused by a dry Christmas tree atop a bad electrical outlet killed 4 children and their grandparents, Don and Sandra Pyle. The house didn't have a fire sprinkler because it was built before Anne Arundel County required fire suppression systems in 2009.
Prince George's County has required sprinklers since 1992. Montgomery County began in 2004. Neither county has reported a fire death in a home with a sprinkler system in all those years.
“In Montgomery County in 2015, we had 44 sprinkler activations in the county saving over 26 lives,” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Kevin Frazier said.
