• 2011

From WayneIndependent.com:

Lawmakers in the state House of Representatives voted Wednesday night to eliminate a statewide mandate that would require sprinkler systems to be installed in newly built homes.

The House passed the bill on a vote of 129-68 to send the bill to Gov. Tom Corbett to sign into law. The state Senate voted 33-17 to repeal the mandate Tuesday.

The bill repealed a law in the Uniform Construction Code that went into effect on Jan. 1 which said all new one- and two-family homes were required to install sprinkler systems.

Rep. Mike Peifer, R-Greene, an outspoken opponent of the mandate, said it was “too far reaching.”

“I’ve heard from all over my district ... that the measure was just too far reaching,” he said Thursday.

Although the residential sprinkler mandate is removed, the law would require builders to offer sprinkler systems to buyers at the point of sale, which the Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA) says is a “proactive” step to improve safety standards.

“This is a true victory for consumer choice,” PBA President Ray Venema stated in a press release. “Clearly, PA’s lawmakers have listened to their constituents and done the right thing by voting to put this decision back into the hands of the consumers where it belongs.”

A Senate amendment removes the General Assembly from the code-changing process by increasing the threshold for approving changes in the construction code from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority of the 19-member panel that oversees triennial revisions of the code.

Peifer said it should be this way because the panel is compromised of industry professionals who are the most knowledgeable of the code.

“They are the professionals who are building the homes,” he said. “They have the knowledge to make the decisions on their own.”

Democratic opponents said the amendment would effectively give the builders veto power over future changes to the state’s Uniform Construction Code.

Environmental groups and lawmakers said the building industry representatives on the panel hold enough votes to block a two-thirds majority and warned that they might stop adoption of stricter energy conservation requirements and other important standards.

Sprinklers would still be required in new town house construction.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) launched a media campaign against the repeal, saying that sprinkler systems would not only assist fire departments but also save the lives of residents.

Former Honesdale Fire Company Deputy Chief Lt. Kipp Welsh said if there was going to be a mandate, it should be for a more practical item — smoke detectors.

“Smoke detectors are a cheap way to save your life,” he said.

A January 2008 report conducted by the NFPA found that the chance of surviving a reported home fire when working smoke alarms are present is 99.45 percent.

Log Homes

 The bill also contained language re-inserting trade-offs on energy efficiency for log home builders — a huge benefit for the unique industry.

Jack Mundy, director of sales at the Honesdale-based Estemerwalt Log Homes, said the passage of the repeal was “a huge win.”

“The good news is we got the trade-offs,” he said. “It’s still a sound way to build homes and it’s energy efficient.”

The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) removed trade-offs regarding energy efficiency and put more restrictions on the log home construction business by changing requirements in wall thickness, window quality and heating systems.

PBA spokeswoman Melissa Etshied said the log home provisions included in the repeal were “integral” to the industry across the state.

“The energy efficiency provisions didn’t allow log home manufacturers to take advantage of trade-offs as they had in the past,” Etshied said. “They couldn’t meet energy efficiency standards” under the more strict IRC regulations.

“The changes are integral to that industry and that’s huge in Pennsylvania,” she added.

A call to a spokesman for Corbett was unsuccessful.