Opponents of a change to a fire code for new-home construction spoke Monday morning during a public hearing before the West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee.
House Bill 4276 is a rules bundle for the State Fire Marshal updating the State Building Code. The bill includes many updates, changes and revisions to the code, but one change has upset several interest groups.
If approved by the Legislature, the bill would remove the requirement for arc-fault circuit interrupter protection for new-home construction except for bedrooms. These breakers can detect electrical arcing in bad or damaged wiring and shut down power before the arcing can start a fire.
Delegate Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, co-chairman of the rule-making committee, said the rule change would help bring down the cost of new-home construction, an issue for his district, which is among the fastest growing counties in the state. Foster said the rule change was requested by members of the committee.