Louis Orangeo is a resident of Dover.
I am writing to voice my opinion and concern regarding a recent city ordinance mandating home sprinklers that was adopted at the Oct. 12 Dover City Council meeting. I believe that council has made a poor decision in voting to adopt this ordinance and did not do its research. To say the least, this ordinance is going to hurt a lot of people financially.
It is extremely disappointing that the city is now mandating that all new single-family homes have sprinkler systems, which will add, yet again, more cost to the construction of homes. At a time when we are in a housing affordability crisis, we should not be adding thousands of dollars to the cost of homes, especially for families suffering from financial hardships. I’m certainly not arguing against fire prevention or safety, but if City Council is going to consider imposing another mandatory cost on every new home built in Dover or require sprinkler systems for current residents adding additions to their homes or finishing their basements, I believe the decision should be based on the total installed cost, to include sprinkler piping, sprinkler heads and labor. The price of a residential fire sprinkler system varies by system type, head count and local labor. While proponents often claim that residential systems are simple, low-cost additions, research confirms that the actual per-unit cost frequently balloons to a range of $9,700 to over $28,100. Further, there is a significant difference between what a sprinkler contractor charges to install a system and what a homeowner or developer ultimately pays to make that system operational.
In addition, it has been noted that these systems are not effective at saving lives. The state of Maryland has implemented this for years. For over a decade, fire fatalities haven’t changed in Maryland. In fact, they have increased. Smoke detectors work, and sprinklers can’t save the lives that smoke detectors have already saved. Statistically, in most fires, the leading cause of death is carbon monoxide poisoning from toxic smoke, not burns or direct flame contact.
This city ordinance is nothing more than an excessive cost for little to no life safety benefit, and it needs to be repealed. I urge Dover City Council to go back to the table and remove the mandate for residential sprinklers.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
