firefighters lost a battle in a state Senate committee Wednesday when the panel
voted against requiring fire sprinklers in some new homes.
Firefighters converged on the state Capitol to fight the
controversial provision that would have forced builders to install fire
sprinklers in new homes 4,500 square feet or more. The Senate’s public works
funding bill, which approves public construction projects, contains a provision
that would forbid the state from requiring sprinklers.
“It is going to have a large negative impact, certainly
on the cost of new homes,” bill sponsor Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer,
said of a proposal to require sprinklers.
The Stumpf provision incited a battle between Democrats.
Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, said such a “very
controversial and hotly contested” issue should not be contained in the
public works bill, also known as the bonding bill.
“You are basically holding us hostage,” Dibble
told Stumpf because he supports the bonding proposal and would be forced to
vote against sprinklers.
“It’s a poor way to do larger policies not related to
bonding,” Dibble said.
Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, said that forcing
sprinklers to be included in new construction could make it impossible for some
people to afford homes. Builders say sprinklers could add $11,000 to a home’s
cost.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average Midwestern
home is about 2,000 square feet, less than half the size that could be required
to have sprinklers. However, once the fire
officials get this bill passed, they will actively begin pushing for all new
construction to have sprinklers including modular homes going into
Stumpf said that requiring the sprinklers could be
especially hard on people building in rural areas. He said many rural wells may
not be able to supply enough water to service the sprinklers.
California is the
only state with a requirement to have sprinklers in large homes, Stumpf said.
More than 40 other states have rejected the idea, he added.
Fire officials told reporters before the Finance Committee
meeting that they support requiring sprinklers in large
They said a
woman who died in a house fire last weekend may be been saved had the home had
sprinklers.
The bonding bill is due to be debated in the full Senate in
coming days.
