Sprinklers Required in New Buildings
Features
Faced with a tremendous increase in the residential fire problem as its population doubles in the next 10 years, San Clemente, Calif., has passed an ordinance requiring sprinkler systems to be installed in new residential construction. The ordinance also applies to the remodeling of more than 50 percent of a building.
There has been a great deal of talk over the years about residential fires, which account for the largest number of structural fires and take the most lives, but San Clemente has done something about the residential fire problem. The sprinkler ordinance is also aimed at restraining the cost of public fire protection while maximizing fire department services and putting technology to work for us.
What prompted the passage of the residential sprinkler ordinance was a unique growth situation in the city and preparatory work by the staff of the San Clemente Fire Department.
Land to be developed
San Clemente covers 15 square miles with a population of 26,000. Two thirds of the city, about 10 square miles, is vacant land. The three corporations which own this land are prepared to fully develop it within the next 10 years. The population of San Clemente is due to double by 1990.
The fire department staff several years ago realized that it faced this potential and instituted a fire department master plan project. One of the elements of the master plan was to examine alternative methods of providing fire protection during this period of unprecedented growth. Initially, the department received most of its information and training on the master plan project from attending the National Fire Academy fire protection master planning course.
Historically, 90 percent of the fire loss in San Clemente has occurred in single and multiple residential buildings. The five-year fire record also showed that t he largest percentage of fires started in kitchens and living rooms. The result of this statistical data was the formulation of a master plan goal to “reduce the loss of life and property in dwelling fires by building fire protection into new construction.”
Three systems studied
Research during the master plan project developed a great deal of information on studies of residential sprinkler systems, smoke detectors and early warning systems. These systems were immediately identified as possible means of mitigating the fire problem.
The first of these systems that was integrated into the city’s codes was that of smoke detectors. A comprehensive smoke detector ordinance, patterned after the San Carlos one, was adopted in 1976. This ordinance requires the installation of smoke detectors in all new homes and in existing homes when they are sold or by 1981, whichever comes first.
Members of the fire department took some of their basic information on residential sprinkler tests from United States Department of Commerce studies. With the aid of several local automatic sprinkler companies, the department conducted a series of controlled burns, experimenting with a wide range of heads and installation specifications suggested by the Department of Commerce studies. These tests were run in cooperation with local building contractors and developers. Interested parties were allowed to witness the tests and make suggestions on how to incorporate sprinkler systems into their construction projects.
Four sprinkler goals
The residential sprinkler ordinance was developed with four major goals:
- That it be low cost.
- That it be aesthetically acceptable to homeowners.
- That it be aimed at reducing liability in providing fire services.
- That it speed the response of extinguishing agents in a dwelling fire.
One thing became apparent right away. The state of the art in residential sprinkler protection was not perfect. But, to draw an analogy, the fire department staff felt “that if the Wright Brothers had waited for the Concorde to be invented, they probably never would have built the first aircraft.” The decision was made to take what information we had and move forward with the development of a comprehensive sprinkler ordinance for dwellings.
The San Clemente Fire Department operates with an attack pumper that is backed up by reserve fire fighters. Based on this operational situation, it was our intent to provide residential sprinkler systems with three objectives in mind. The first objective was to confine 95 percent of all dwelling occupancy fires to the room of origin. The second was to utilize the sprinkler system to prevent flash-over from extending a fire into rooms adjacent to the room of origin. The third objective was to provide fire suppression capability for the first 15 minutes of an alarm.
Fire department support
These three objectives recognized that these systems must be supported by fire suppression forces if they were to be 100 percent effective. These three objectives also recognized that the residential sprinkler system was primarily a tool to mitigate against fire spread during the reflex time period.
The department already had a partial track record on these systems. Due to the other problems in the community, such as limited access, underground garages, etc., the department had already required several apartment houses and condominiums to be sprinklered to NFPA Pamphlet 13-D requirements. Prior to passage of the ordinance, the fire prevention bureau had required these systems in approximately six of these occupancies. Three had been completed prior to the final drafting of the ordinance.
Consideration of this alternative was given a tremendous boost with the passage of proposition 13. This tax-limiting initiative highlighted the general problem of eroding revenue to support fire departments.
One of the most important elements in the study was that of cost. With home construction costs spiraling rapidly, one of the objectives of the study was to develop a system that would be economically feasible during construction. With single family dwelling construction costs running over $80,000, the installation of a truly domestic residential system was a relatively insignificant amount. The staff estimated the cost to be only $700 to $800 during the construction of a home of about 2100 square feet.
Early warning system
The third system that has yet to be required by ordinance is the early warning alarm system to tie together the other systems. The fire department communications officer, Captain Bill Bundy, has authored an ordinance and designed specifications for an alarm system that will allow the fire department to monitor both smoke detectors and residential sprinkler systems with a combination of telephone and cable TV circuits. It is anticipated that this ordinance will soon be enacted.
There are many other elements of the residential sprinkler system too lengthy to discuss in this article. Two of the major construction requirements, however, will be tightly controlled by the fire department.
First, the system must be installed according to proper design. Through a series of inspections and testing, the fire department will examine every installation and compare it against the standards and engineering drawings.
Secondly, the quality of construction will be controlled through a series of permits authorized under the ordinance, which in summary states, “No one shall install a residential sprinkler system in San Clemente without a fire department permit.” These permits can be obtained through the office of the fire chief. It will be his obligation, prior to issuance of a permit, to be satisfied that the applicant has adequate training and knowledge in sprinkler system plumbing practices.
One-year sprinkler installer permits are issued for a $10 fee that covers the administration costs of the fire department.
Premium cut sought
The fire prevention bureau is soliciting input from the insurance industry in an attempt to get a reduction in insurance premiums for occupancies that are protected by all three built-in systems. The results of that study are incomplete at this time.
In summary, the enactment of these amendments to the Uniform Fire Code should allow our city to maximize our fire suppression forces without facing spiraling costs or reduced revenue. It will not prevent our department from growing in terms of additional staff and equipment. As a matter of fact, the master plan also calls for two new fire stations.
It is still too soon to determine if the standards and the ordinances produce a statistically significant level of reduction in the fire problem. The fire department staff is continuing to build a partnership of the fire service, the sprinkler industry, the insurance industry, the building industry and the local citizenry to upgrade the ordinances if that becomes necessary.
Hopefully, when the development of the three vacant land areas is completed, we will have an environment that is considerably safer from a fire loss point of view than the average community. We really don’t know that for sure. To compare to our early analogy about the Wright Brothers, we have now built in a system that is flying, but we are really not sure how it’s going to land. Only time will tell!
