Home fire sprinklers save lives, protect property and create a safer fire scenario for firefighters. Every national model building code in this country includes the provision for fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes. That means it is the minimum level of safety. Jurisdictions who choose to bypass this provision or amend it out of their codes are choosing to allow substandard housing to be built.
Plumbers, gas fitters issue sprinkler installation guidelines
The Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters has issued guidelines for installation of NFPA 13D potable water (multipurpose) fire sprinkler systems. “Installation of said 13D systems, to include the installation of the sprinkler head, shall be, installed by licensed plumbers. A Massachusetts registered professional engineer shall design the potable water piping system in compliance with 248 CMR. Additionally, inspections are required by the plumbing inspector to assure compliance with 248 CMR.”
Fire chiefs outraged over action on home fire sprinklers in Massachusetts
Fire chiefs from across the Commonwealth expressed outrage and disappointment at the February 14, 2012, vote by the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards to defeat a proposal that would have amended the Massachusetts One and Two Family Building Code to allow for home fire sprinklers.
“The BBRS is letting down the people of Massachusetts today and for generations to come by allowing substandard homes to be built in Massachusetts,” said Ashburnham Chief Paul Zbikowski, president of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts (FCAM) in a press release issued today. “Not only are they ignoring the minimum level of safety established by model codes, they are putting our firefighters unnecessarily in harms way.”
The Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) had promulgated a building code for the Commonwealth and omitted the provision to require home fire sprinklers in new construction, effective August 4, 2011. The BBRS is made up of 11 individuals representing various disciplines and falls under the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Public Safety.
NFPA and the Massachusetts Fire Sprinkler Coalition believes the BBRS should have reversed its action to better protect the citizens and firefighters of the Commonwealth or, at a minimum, push out the implementation date for the provision to become effective.
On December 13, 2011, against the backdrop of the firefighters memorial at the State House, NFPA President James M. Shannon and representatives of every major fire service organization in the state came together to protest against the new building code in Massachusetts.
In the last decade, there have been more than 54,000 fires in one- and two-family homes in Massachusetts. These fires injured more than 2,300 firefighters and 1,500 civilians, and caused more than 753 million dollars in property loss. Forty percent of all firefighter injuries happen in one- and two-family homes.
How you can take action for safer homes in Massachusetts
Contact the BBRS directly. Here is draft language you can use for your letter, e-mail, or phone call.
Write
Board of Building Regulations and Standards, Executive Office of Pubic Safety, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108
Call or e-mail
Massachusetts fire organizations that support fire sprinklers in new homes
Rally, sprinkler demonstration held at NFPA headquarters
A fire totally destroys an unsprinklered room during a live, side-by-side demonstration at NFPA headquarters in Quincy, MA, on November 3, 2011. In the room outfitted with a single sprinkler head, the sprinkler activated after 20 seconds and quickly brought down the flames. Information, more photos from the Quincy event.