AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Automatic fire sprinkler systems could soon be required in all newly built homes in New York State, but business owners disagree on whether home buyers should have a say in this decision.
Opinions remain split on the proposed mandate by the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council to require automatic fire sprinkler systems added to all newly built one- and two-family homes in New York State.
Currently, sprinklers are optional, chosen by the home buyer. State law requires any builder contracting a one- or two-family residence, under three stories in height, to provide the buyer with information regarding the installation of fire sprinklers and cost estimates before entering into a contract.
However, I’m told the big hang-up is how much more costly does this make building and buying a new home?
“A standard price [for fire sprinklers] is usually less than 2% of the value of a home… If you have a $500,000 home, it’s $10,000 to have that residential fire sprinkler installed when you’re building a new home,” Past President/CEO of Davis Ulmer Fire Protection, a fire sprinkler contractor, Steve Ulmer said. “Fire departments, as great of a job as they do, they can’t put water on a fire within a minute or less [like the sprinklers] … How much is a life worth? In a nutshell, that’s it.”
“Averages that I have heard are putting it roughly between $30,000 - $40,000 added to the cost of a home,” President of Cortese Construction Services Domenic Cortrese said last week. “We are being counter-productive to what our desire would be, and that is to make homes more affordable.”
“I’m not in favor of a mandate… In many cases, you’re going to be between $25,000 to $35,000 to put a sprinkler system in,” President of ZAMKRO Homes Dean Kroll said. “Things that people don’t think about is the water capacity coming into the house, [and that] may require some changes to the meter itself, which adds costs.”
“We do believe this is a positive thing… Prices on other presentations I have seen, seem to be overinflated on the actual cost. In California, once these sprinklers were installed and put into code, the actual price of those sprinkler systems did decrease significantly.” Wyoming County Fire/EMS Coordinator and President of the New York State Fire Coordinators Association Bill Streicher said. “The odds of a fatality in a residential home with working sprinklers, smoke alarms and fire alarms reduce by 90%.”
The next state Fire Prevention and Building Code Council meeting is December 6.
