The IAFC has learned that the homebuilders are starting an initiative to prevent local adoption of national standards that require residential sprinklers by introducing state legislation that would block new code adoptions that mandate residential fire sprinkler requirements.

According to a message from the IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition, such bills have just been filed in Arizona (HB2267) and North Dakota (SB2354). The Coalition reports that fire service groups in Arizona are already engaged to fight their bill, and the Coalition is preparing to initiate a similar response in North Dakota.

Along with other members of the Coalition, the IAFC Fire & Life Safety Section is monitoring any additional anti-residential sprinkler legislation. Please contact Joelle Fishkin at the IAFC (jfishkin@iafc.org) and provide the details, including the bill number, if this type of legislation emerges in your region. This will enable the IAFC’s FLSS to share the information with the coalition, which is coordinating opposition to these homebuilder-initiated bills.

“We have spent considerable time working to help save lives by voting in favor of including residential sprinklers in the model codes,” said IAFC President Larry J. Grorud, CFO, MIFireE. “We know there is significant work to be completed to ensure sprinkler requirements are adopted across the country, and we will not let this anti-residential sprinkler legislation deter our efforts to reduce fire loss in America. I urge all fire service members to commit to defeating such legislation. Fire sprinklers save lives, and the public needs to know how important this is for their families, communities and the fire service.”

For more information, visit www.iafc.org/flss and http://www.ircfiresprinkler.org/.