Michigan Says "NO" To Mandatory Residential Fire Sprinklers

Michigan Says "NO" To Mandatory Residential Fire Sprinklers

It is the code battle you probably never heard of...

Every three years, the International Residential Code (IRC) is updated. The Michigan Residential Code (MRC) is fine-tuned using the IRC as the template.

One of the big changes in the recent IRC is the mandate that new homes be built with residential fire sprinkler systems (very similar to what you'd see in a commercial building), which adds a major amount of money to the construction cost. While the idea was championed by organizations like the National Fire Protection Association for the safety benefits, organizations like the Michigan Association of Home Builders (MAHB) fought with everything they had, due to the economic impact it would have on builders and buyers.

Finally, the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) has come to a decision -- it rejected a proposal to force home buyers to equip their new homes with fire sprinklers. This means that residential fire sprinklers are a voluntary option available to purchasers of new homes.

This is the second consecutive code cycle in which the DELEG has rejected efforts to impose a mandatory sprinkler requirement on Michigan homeowners.

To date, 26 states (including Michigan) have opted out of the mandatory residential sprinkler requirements set in the IRC.

“The next edition of the Michigan Residential Code, which goes into effect early in 2011, will not contain the controversial mandate for fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes and townhouses found in the International Residential Code published by the International Code Council,” said Lee Schwartz, executive vice president for government relations of the Michigan Association of Home Builders (MAHB). “We applaud the department’s decision to let homebuyers decide for themselves the best way to protect their family and improve their quality of life. Dollars involuntarily spent on a sprinkler system wouldn’t be available for improved medical care, better insurance, a safer and more fuel-efficient car, education expenses, or retirement accounts.”

Side note: The MRC coming out in early 2011 is the 2009 Michigan Residential Code. Even though it becomes the official building code in 2011, it is based on the 2009 International Residential Code, hence the "2009" title in a 2011 product.

DELEG cited questions about the reliability and effectiveness residential fire sprinkler systems and the cost of compliance as reasons for their decision. Among the documented evidence DELEG considered:

• A January 2008 study by Fire Analysis and Research Division of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) concluding “The chances of surviving a reported home fire when working smoke alarms are present are 99.45%. …“
  
• A January 2009 NFPA report entitled “U.S. Experience With Sprinklers And Other Automatic Fire Extinguishing Equipment” showing from 2003 to 2006 inclusive, in all residential one- and two-family homes in the nation equipped with sprinklers where fires occurred, sprinklers did not operate in 60% of the fires and in another 1% did not operate effectively.
  
• A May 2010 study from the University of Maryland’s Department of Fire Protection Engineering finding there are fewer casualties that occur in fires too small to activate the smoke detectors/alarms than those fires that are too small to activate the sprinklers. In laboratory fire tests, when the fire sprinkler did not extinguish the fire, the recorded levels of carbon monoxide and nitrate gases were in the fatal effective dose ranges making the conditions within the area untenable. The number one cause of death from fire is asphyxiation from smoke inhalation.
  
• An analysis of seven years (2000-2006) of Michigan-specific residential fire death statistics revealed 93% of the 131 annual residential fire deaths in Michigan’s 4.5 million residences occurred in homes without working smoke alarms.

Joining MAHB in the fight against mandatory residential fire sprinklers were: Habitat for Humanity of Michigan, the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, the Michigan Association of Counties, the American Institute of Architects/Michigan, several regional chambers of commerce, many building inspectors (i.e. the city inspectors, not home inspectors), and a number of affordable housing organizations.