Category: sprinkler systems

Cost of new residential system varies from $2,500 to $10,000

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — After Oct. 1, all new housing in Maryland — including Garrett County — will be required to have fire sprinklers installed, according to new legislation signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley in May.

“The county cannot weaken fire suppression requirements,” said John Nelson, director of the Department of Planning and Land Development, during the June 5 county commission meeting.

The commissioners met with Nelson and James Torrington, chief of the Permits and Inspections Division, to review the county building codes, which follow on the heels of Maryland’s 2012 edition of the International Residential Code.

Every three years, the state amends building standards, of which local jurisdictions typically adopt six months later, according to a county news release. However, the county will delay making changes to its building code until the new sprinkler requirement takes effect.

Nelson said the new sprinkler requirements “will drive up the costs of construction significantly.”

The cost of residential sprinkler systems ranges from around $2,500 to around $10,000, estimates show.

The recent legislation amended the Maryland Building Performance to prohibit local jurisdictions from excluding automatic fire sprinkler system requirements for townhouses and one- and two-family dwellings.

Exceptions to the new sprinkler law include buildings without electricity, such as homes of Amish families, who may shun modern conveniences, according to the news release.

Two other exceptions to the mandate are valid until Jan. 1, 2016.

A dwelling unit doesn’t require a sprinkler system if either the lot was subject to a valid unexpired public works utility agreement executed before March 1, 2011, or the lot is served by a water line installed before March 1, 2011, that is less than 1 inch in size, approved and owned by the water system whose mains are fully operational, according to the news release.

July 1 is also the deadline to apply for percolation tests on properties planned for subdivisions. After July 1, major subdivisions of greater than seven lots may not be approved to use on-site sewage or septic systems, according to the news release.

The septic bill was based on recommendations from the governor’s Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal to minimize the amount of harmful nitrogen loads from septic systems that enter the Chesapeake Bay watershed, according to the news release.

The Maryland Department of the Environment was required to come up with regulations for nitrogen offsets, according to a pervious Times-News article. Currently, the septic systems leach out higher levels of nitrogen than are typically allowed on any public sewer system.

To schedule a percolation test, call the Environmental Health Division of the Garrett County Health Department at 301-334-7760.

More here.

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Fire Marshal attributes control of the fire and family’s safety to sprinkler system.

By Kym Byrnes

August 19, 2011

Three people safely escaped from a Mount Airy home Aug. 18 and there was minimal fire damage to the home, thanks to a sprinkler system that was installed during the house’s construction two years ago.

Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray told Patch that the public often doesn’t hear about the successes of these residential sprinkler systems because the fire damage and human injury are avoided, leaving little to report.

“It’s not exciting news but it’s important to get the word out that these sprinkler systems do work in saving lives and minimizing damage from fire and smoke. Because they work so well, we often don’t hear about them,” Mowbray said….

…The State of Maryland adopted the residential sprinkler requirement in the building code last year. Mowbray said they made the wording so that that counties can opt of out requiring it in their building code. Washington County and Garrett County are two of the counties that opted out of adopting the ordinance.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — New homes built in Garrett County will not be required to contain automatic sprinkler systems, a statewide proposal that sparked heated debate in many Maryland counties.

The county commission removed the sprinkler re-quirement from the building code it adopted July 27.

The measure is included in the 2009 International Residential Code, adopted by the state of Maryland, which applies to one- and two-family homes. The revised code requires a minimum of two sprinkler heads to spray 26 to 30 gallons of water per minute for a 10-minute period, for a total of 260 to 300 gallons of water.

Counties had the option to adhere to the IRC as-is or to adopt it with local amendments, as Garrett County did.

“The argument for the sprinkler system did not measure up to the many objections against it,” said commission chairman Ernie Gregg. “You can argue the safety factor, but in our opinion there are adequate safety measures in place with things like smoke detectors. … You can’t weigh a person’s life against cost, but this would have placed an additional considerable financial burden on people.”

Despite the commission’s decision, modular homes must contain sprinkler systems, according to County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt. That state requirement could not be waived by the commission.

Pagenhardt said the commissioners received roughly 20 to 25 comments from the public on the proposed sprinkler requirement, but only two supported it.

“The commissioners listened to that commentary and agreed with the majority opinion that they heard,” he said.

Many of the opponents, such as Roger Sines of McHenry-based Roger Sines Construction Inc., argued that the added cost of a sprinkler system would deter people from building new homes in the county.

The cost of such a system could add anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000 to the cost of a new home, Sines estimated.

Previous estimates have figured sprinklers at a cost of between $1.60 and $2 per square foot of space, meaning that a system for an average 2,000-square-foot home would cost between $3,200 and $4,000. And many factors could drive up that cost. For example, homes relying on a private well could also be required to install a reservoir and fire pump to drive the sprinkler system.

The Western Maryland Home Builders Association submitted a letter to the commission requesting that the sprinkler policy be postponed to 2012.

But proponents of the measure said it would make homes safer for occupants and firefighters, and could lower the cost of homeowners’ fire insurance.

Dennis Mallery, president of the Allegany-Garrett Counties Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, wrote to association members in June that the sprinkler issue comes down to a question of safety.

“There should be no debate over this issue,” Mallery said in his letter to firefighters. “The WMHBA continues to voice their concern that it is not the right time economically to require residential sprinklers in new 1-2 family homes. When is there a ‘right’ time? After a family member or firefighter is injured or killed?”

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