HARRISBURG - Calling it a "common sense" step, Gov. Tom Corbett signed his first bill Monday repealing a state mandate for fire sprinklers in new homes. The governor said the repeal will help keep the price of new homes within reach of families by avoiding thousands of dollars of additional costs. He said the choice of installing sprinklers should be left up to consumers.
Builders welcomed the repeal. Pat Perih, of the Moscow-based Perih Group LLC, said it was an example of misguided over-governance. Mandating sprinklers for new construction didn't address the issue of fire deaths, which tend to occur in homes built before 1990 when electrical and construction safeguards were improved.
"If they wanted to save lives, put sprinklers into older homes that are more likely to burn down," Perih said.
The state construction code already requires hard-wired smoke detectors in new homes, while builders will be required to provide information on sprinklers to new homebuyers, Corbett added.
Supporters of the sprinkler mandate said it would help save lives. Don Nealis of Northeast Design and Build in Towanda said hard-wired smoke detectors are perhaps more effective at saving lives than a sprinkler system. A sprinkler system adds anywhere from $7,000 to $16,000 per house. Systems can be more expensive in rural areas than in urban areas because the require water storage and a generator.
The new law also sets a supermajority requirement for future votes by a state board to change the state's Uniform Construction Code.
The revised code will now require added fireproofing for the flooring.
David Falchek, staff writer, contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com