REALTORS® say no to mandatory sprinklers

“Mandatory sprinklers are unnecessary to protect public safety,” said PA Association of REALTORS® (PAR) President Greg Herb during testimony before the PA Senate Labor and Industry Committee.

PAR, along with the PA Builders, PA Manufactured Housing and Modular Building Systems associations, presented testimony during Tuesday’s public hearing on Senate Bill 1001 (Sen. Bob Robbins, R-Mercer).

SB 1001 would remove the statewide mandate and continue to allow municipal governments the option to enact the sprinkler requirement for new construction.

A recent survey conducted by PAR found that 62 percent of voters believe smoke alarms are a much better form of preventing the loss of life. Furthermore, 67 percent of voters in the commonwealth said that if they were building their own home they would choose a $500 smoke alarm system rather than a $5,000 sprinkler system.

“PAR opposes mandated sprinklers in new construction simply because Pennsylvanians can’t afford it,” added Herb. “Mandatory sprinklers in new one- and two-family construction will drive up new home prices in Pennsylvania and stall the recovery of the housing sector and improvement of the Pennsylvania economy.”

Research shows that hard-wired interconnected smoke detectors – already mandatory – are the best way to prevent fire-related deaths and the decision to install additional fire-safety devices should be a consumer choice. Mandatory sprinklers are yet another unnecessary and expensive government mandate for Pennsylvanians.

Unless legislation is passed by Dec. 31, the state Department of Labor and Industry will adopt regulations implementing mandatory sprinklers in new townhomes in 2010 and all new homes in 2011.