Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 | 11:35 p.m.
After about an hour of discussion Tuesday, the Henderson City Council unanimously passed a provision in its residential code that will require all new homes to be built with fire sprinkler systems.
“If there’s a notion that we don’t have a problem with fire in Henderson, that’s simply not the case,” said Fire Chief Douglas Stevens during a presentation to the council. Within the last five years, he said, three Henderson residents have died in home fires, and in the past year, 81 people have been hospitalized at UMC for burns.
By installing sprinkler systems in new homes, Stevens said, “we can prevent people from being burned alive or burned to death.”
The sprinkler systems put water onto a fire 15 to 90 seconds after a fire starts, Stevens said. Firefighters usually get water onto a fire within 10 minutes.
“We will never beat 15 to 90 seconds, no matter what we do,” Stevens said.
Henderson is the first municipality in the Las Vegas Valley to require residential fire sprinklers, according to Michael Bouse, director of the city’s building department.
The code is not retroactive, meaning it does not apply to existing homes.
The cost of putting a sprinkler system in a home is about $5,000, Bouse said. Typically, insurance companies offer lower rates — up 12 percent lower — to people with the systems in their homes, he said.
During the meeting, home builders expressed reservations about the provision, saying the city should look further into the sprinkler system as an option for homeowners to consider not a requirement for builders.
Councilwoman Debra March said she wanted to look at options before voting on the provision and favored a continuance to a later date. After hearing the rest of the council voice their support for the item to pass immediately, however, she voted in favor of the item.
Councilwoman Kathleen Boutin said she wanted to vote for the provision Tuesday night and not continue it to a future meeting because the city “probably should have implemented this a long time ago.”
“We’re dealing with damages on a daily basis,” Boutin said.
If only there was a device which would alert us to a fire in our homes...idiots. Starting to turn into California.
I would think we should follow the money.
Henderson is the land of over regulation. They also won't let you park a motor home overnight in a parking lot, but bums can sleep in their cars in the same parking lots. Where do they think the bums go "to the bathroom" at night?
The incentives are already there for homeowneres (safety & lower insurance premiums). Why is Henderson mandating this? Whose brother-in-law owns a sprinker company?
And, as usual, the Unions win again. Of course, the City will have to inspect the system, more money for the 200G hose holders. They have very little to do in a residential community with no high rises, few mid rises. So we have to endure a make work regulation that helps the City workers, and screws the little guy-you and me. Wait until Henderson gets the right to tax property owners after the next session of the legislature, pull down your shorts, it ain't gonna' be pretty.
Why not require new homes to be solar? There's plenty of opportunity for kickbacks and graft, and it'd also serve a good purpose so it's win:win for everyone.
Good idea Henderson.
I'd love to see the bid they got for $5,000. Absolute lie.
I work in the homebuilding industry (when there's work to do), In Bakersfield and Kern County, California the rules for sprinklers go into effect on Jan 1. One builder I work for is working to get several permits in before the deadline to avoid the cost. If you take out the permit before Jan. 1, the rules will not apply. He is building them on spec (no buyer's contract) in order to keep the price down. I talked to an engineer who says it's in the new federal Uniform Building Code, so it is going to happen regardless of what city or county you are in, Within a couple years, all new construction will require sprinklers. It will add at least $10,000 - $15,000 to the cost of a new house. Not sure where the $5,000 number comes from. House sales are already bad, this will make it worse for buyers, at least in the beginning.
Bakersfield, the average cost in the Las Vegas Valley is between $1.25 and $1.40 per square foot. Lets do some math. A home of 2500square foot x $1.40 (high end pricing) equals $3,500 for sprinkers. This is based on information received from permits that were processed in the city on homes that had systems installed. People will spend more money on a fancy countertop than the sprinklers. I would like to see a countertop save a life. and another thing, this creates jobs for plumbing or residential sprinkler contractors! What a concept.
citizen. I'm using numbers given to me by a California builder for homes in California. Maybe it's more expensive here, maybe he "inflated" his numbers. I'm in no way saying they shouldn't have sprinklers, just reporting information given to me by a builder and an engineer. It will be the industry standard in a few years, that's not a complaint, that's just a fact. I do know that contractors in Las Vegas have shaved their costs and margins as much as possible in order to compete with everyone low-balling the bids just to get the work. (I worked in LV for 4 years). I also agree on the additional jobs created info, but how many jobs are created when there is no business. A lot of builders will demand cost cuts elsewhere (some will downgrade to vinyl flooring and formica countertops, etc.). One could equate this law to when air bags were first required in cars, much of the "cost issues" were tossed out as reasons not to do it. Now it's part of the cost of doing business. Same will happen with fire sprinklers.
Regarding spending on countertops or other costly items, again, I am with you, I know someone who didn't want to spend $4,000 extra to get a garage 2 feet longer on their new house so their truck would fit inside because of the cost, then they spent $50,000+ on a pool they never use. They park the truck outside, It's been broken into twice (in a "good" neighborhood).
I guess what I am saying is that this is not a "Henderson" issue alone, It's nationwide and will be universally required everywhere. Time to buy stock in companies that make the components for fire sprinklers.
Okay - Let's see if I get this. I have a kitchen fire in my oven and the sprinkler system activates itself and douses my house in water causing untold $$$ in water damage and my insurance company is going to give me a break for installing this system. Yeah. Right.
Next everyone is going to be required to walk around with helmets. This is ridiculous. $5K upfront and then thousands to maintain because 3 people out of 2 million died. Such nonsense. I bet more people in Vegas died from taking aspirin as prescribed over this time so why not outlaw aspirin? A terrible waste of money. Shame on you lawmakers. Shame, shame, shame.