Senate Places One-Year Hold on Construction Mandate

Home sprinkler requirement would place undue burden on rural areas

The Senate approved legislation placing a one-year moratorium on a provision of Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code (UCC) that would require sprinklers in all new single-family homes and two-unit duplexes, according to Senator Don White (R-41).

The Senate approved House Bill 1196, legislation placing a one-year moratorium on a residential sprinkler mandate for all new home construction, which is otherwise to take full effect on January 1, 2011.

"This mandate sounds good on paper, but it really is costly and impractical, especially in rural areas of the state," Senator White said. "Estimates are that it would take $1 billion to $2 billion in infrastructure improvements for existing municipal water authorities to meet the pressure and service requirements that would come from this mandate."

Senator White said the sprinkler mandate is just the latest instance of a negative impact of the UCC on construction in Pennsylvania. He has previously supported legislative efforts to repeal the statewide building code.

"The impact on properties served by well water would be even more costly and likely make it financially impractical for homes to be built in areas without public water service," Senator White added. "Just putting in the sprinklers, the above-ground reservoir and the heating system necessary to keep the storage tank from freezing in winter could increase home construction costs by 10 percent."

Based on documented statistics, the sprinkler mandate would have a limited impact on improving public safety. A 2008 study by the National Fire Protection Association showed that residents have a 99.45 percent chance of surviving a reported house fire when working smoke alarms are present.

Another study by the Pennsylvania National Association of Home Builders showed the survival rate at 99.7 percent in homes with operating smoke alarms.

HB 1196 returns to the House for concurrence.

Contact:

Joe Pittman
(724) 357-0151