Sprinkler requirement should be a local call

Fire officials make a compelling case for new national codes requiring sprinklers in new one- and two- family homes.

The bottom line is this: those systems save lives and prevent costly fire damage.

But residential sprinkler systems also cost money to install, and that's what has opponents trying to block cities and counties from requiring them in newly constructed homes.

They want legislators to prohibit local governments from adopting such requirements, even though they're recommended by the International Code Council, and advocated by fire officials here and across the country. We disagree.

Local governments should make the call - based on the facts and with input from experts, residents and staff - whether or not to follow national recommendations requiring sprinklers in residential homes.

If a community feels the costs of requiring sprinklers outweighs their many benefits, that should be its decision to make. State legislators shouldn't make any move to restrict local officials' ability to do so.

The state residential building code was changed last October to require newly constructed homes to be equipped with fire sprinklers starting in 2013. That change affects state projects and local areas that adopt state code as a matter of course.

But most Iowa residents would be affected only if their local city and county governments adopt similar changes in building codes.

The Iowa Home Builders Association is lobbying for legislation to block local governments from doing so.

They say requiring residential sprinkler systems will pose a significant economic threat that to the state's already bruised housing market. They say customers always would have the option of installing sprinklers if they choose to, but that it shouldn't be required.

There's no question the systems do add some cost to home construction - just how much is a matter of some debate.

Homebuilders have said the systems inflate building costs by as much as $7 per square foot. The National Fire Protection Association estimates the cost is closer to an average of $1.61 per square foot for new construction.

Fire officials who met with The Gazette's editorial board last week said sprinklers can give firefighters precious time. They can save lives.

State building code officials support the change in code. So does the Iowa Association of Professional Fire Chiefs.

Home fires killed about eight people every day in this country in 2007, accounting for 84 percent of all fire deaths, according to the NFPA. Residential sprinkler systems decrease that risk of fire death by 80 percent, they say.

The systems also reduce the average property loss by 71 percent per fire, they say. They buy vital minutes in the event of a fire - especially in new houses, duplexes and town houses commonly built with faster-burning, lightweight materials.

Cost is only one factor - and it should be up to individual communities to decide if it's the deciding one.