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Fire Sprinkler Systems in New Homes Spark Debate

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Apr 20, 2011 at 11:16 PM MDT

Story Updated: Apr 20, 2011 at 11:17 PM MDT

House Bill 307 was crafted to override a building code that would make fire sprinkler systems mandatory in new homes.

Those for the bill say that the systems cost too much money, and could damage a housing market that is already hurting. Now the bill faces a tough battle to beat the Governor's veto.

"It's bad for builders, it’s bad for homebuilders," said Representative Tom Burnett of Bozeman. That’s why the legislator is fighting to keep fire sprinkler systems in new homes a voluntary fixture.

House Bill 307 would prohibit Montana building codes from requiring mandatory installation. The bill passed through the House and Senate with ease twice, but was vetoed by the governor. It will take a two-thirds vote to override that veto.

“The bill stands for affordable housing,” said John Harding with S & H Aluminum. “If you could imagine adding four to six, even eight-thousand dollars to a small home in Great Falls, Montana or anywhere in our state would be a tremendous expense.”

Everyone agrees that sprinklers can save lives, but the fear is that the added cost would be too much for an already sluggish housing market.

“We’re going to start getting to the point where we’re making mandatory additional safety features in homes, we really should maybe start with defibrillators first,” said Harding. “More people certainly will die in their homes from heart attacks.”

Tyson Wilke with Rocky Mountain Front Fire Protection believes the concerns over sprinklers are overblown.

“It’s really not a huge increase in price per square foot,” said Wilke. “It costs just over two dollars a square foot to actually do a residential system.”

In some cases, Wilke says making the right choice could make the difference in the loss of life and property.

“We’re so spread out with our fire departments that sometimes it can take up to an hour to get a fire department out there,” said Wilke. “You instantly have water on the source of the fire, right where it happens, where all that heat is coming from. You always have an alarm, you’re going to be safe.”

There was no movement on the bill on Wednesday, and the legislature will take a four-day break.

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Ryan said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 12:57 PM

What the insurance companies do is their own business; they price in risk. If the objective is to save lives at any cost, we should be requiring people to wear helmets in the shower, for that would save far more lives at a far lower cost. If, instead, we think that people should be free to vote with their dollars and choose what they want - even if it's not a good choice for them - then we can't head down this path at all.

Anonymous said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 11:38 AM

The fact is that if an insurance company does give a discount for fire sprinkler system the top amount of discount is $25.00 per year. I have seen several bids for home fire sprinklers and they are much higher than $2.00 a sq ft. the price they are quoting is for equipment only. The labor adds alot more and there is a ton of things that could add even more to the cost. buyer beware. get all the cost up front.

E.Joramo said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 9:58 AM

Perhaps someone could approach the All-Mighty Insurance Industry to offer a discount or a rebate for installing Sprinklers in a home.

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