EVERETT — How much is it worth to protect a home and the people inside from fire? An extra $5,000? What about $10,000?
And who should make the decision, the homebuyer or the Snohomish County Council?
Those are some of the questions expected to come up Wednesday, when the council plans to hold a hearing about making fire sprinklers mandatory for most new single-family houses in the unincorporated parts of the county.
For Council Chairman Mike Cooper, who spent 25 years as a professional firefighter, it’s an easy choice.
“I’ve been an advocate for residential sprinkler systems for most of my career in the fire service,” Cooper said. “This is stuff that I experienced.”
The councilman has legions of supporters within the fire service, since sprinklers have been proven to save lives. The added safety, however, comes at a price. How much depends on whom you believe.
Representatives from the building industry say it costs an average of $10,000 or more to install a sprinkler system in a new house; members of the fire service contend it’s closer to $5,000.
That’s one of many points being debated
Sprinkler systems could lower insurance premiums. Then again, homeowners may need to pay for ongoing maintenance.
Building industry representatives said they can’t bear extra costs.
“Our No. 1 concern is just how expensive this is, especially in light of how we’re in a housing depression,” said Mike Pattison of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties.
Cooper said builders used the same argument when he tried to pass similar measures in the Legislature, before joining the County Council in 2008. At the time, the economy was flush.
If approved, the county’s rules would apply to any development of two or more homes. There would be exceptions for houses built on existing lots or new lots of one or more acres. The rules would take effect on Jan. 1.
An average of eight people die daily in house fires throughout the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association. Sprinklers — which are activated by heat — reduce home fire deaths by about 80 percent and average property loss by 71 percent, according to the association’s estimates.
The sprinkler issue has been a hot topic for lawmakers going back several years.
Washington state already requires sprinklers for residential buildings with three or more units. Requirements for commercial buildings vary. Washington and several other states are looking into changing codes that recommend sprinklers for all homes.
About 15 cities and counties have varying degrees of sprinkler requirements for single-family homes, said Tim Nogler, the state building council’s managing director.
Redmond, which requires sprinklers for all new single-family homes and townhouses, has some of the strictest rules. Some areas outside the state acted long ago, including Scottsdale, Ariz., which began requiring home sprinklers in the 1980s.
A local real estate group wonders why the county needs to act now, if the state will be taking up the very same issue.
“It’s a proposal that has more questions than answers,” said Nathan Gorton, executive officer with the Snohomish County-Camano Association of Realtors.
Pattison, from the Master Builders, has heard from customers who don’t want sprinklers: “Frankly, they’d rather have a granite countertop than a sprinkler system.”
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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