CONTACT US
Bunny Boyd
Executive Officer
ICHBA
PO Box 7167
Statesville, NC  28987
phone: 704-881-0535
fax: 704-883-0626
ichba@roadrunner.com

To visit the Iredell County Department of Planning & Enforcement Inspection Division, click HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breaking News!


 
The Sprinkler vote that was defeated last year (see below article) will be up for vote again this year.  The ICHBA will be sending representatives to attend and vote against it once again!

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RC Proposals Defeated Word back from the ICC Final Action Hearings in Rochester states that the case for keeping sprinklers as a voluntary option in new homes was strong and successful. This is a significant win for housing affordability and consumer choice in home safety decisions. With this decision, fire sprinklers will remain in the appendix of the IRC, where local jurisdictions can still adopt them if they so choose, and certainly home buyers will always have the option of choosing to have fire sprinklers installed in their new homes, as is appropriate.

While the battle to maintain fire sprinklers as optional rather than mandated equipment in new homes can be expected to continue in subsequent code development cycles, that does not diminish the great accomplishment that of all who traveled to Rochester to express their concerns about mandates to building code officials so that they could understand the many questions and potential problems surrounding this issue. Ultimately, their input convinced voting code officials to make the most appropriate and balanced decision on fire sprinklers. Many thanks go out to those who took the time out of their busy schedules through out the past few months to stand up for affordable housing.

RESOURCES & ASSISTANCE FOR YOU

Sample home sprinkler talking points and background information and assistance with contact information on  building officials is available on www.nabh.org/sprinklers NAHB’s Codes & Standards staff are also ready and available to assist you in identifying code officials in your area and to help you prepare to contact them regarding sprinkler mandates and other code concerns.  Contact staff directly on:

Call:  800.368.5242, ext 8444, E-mail:  bsause@nahb.com

TALKING POINTS

Because of changes in residential construction technology, improved building code requirements - especially for electrical and smoke alarm systems, as well as consumer behavior and the concerted efforts of fire fighters, home builders and other safety advocates, the number of fatal fires has dropped dramatically in the last 20 years.  This trend continues and the decline is even more    impressive given the significant population growth and growth in housing stock our nation continues to see.

•Even more dramatic is the drop in actual fire death rate per million persons (FDMP) from house fires.  In fact, from 1979-2003, the rate dropped by more than 58%, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control.  That trend will continue as more new housing stock is constructed and especially as maintenance of smoke alarms by home occupants is improved.  Furthermore, the fire safety features currently required by building codes will adequately protect the home      throughout its life without the need for fire sprinklers.

•US Fire Administration and National Fire Protection Association data continue to affirm that the vast majority of home fire fatalities occur when there are no operational smoke alarms.

•Thanks to widespread installation of residential smoke alarm systems in recent years, Americans are safer than they’ve ever been.  Based on a 2006 US fire Administration study on the presence of working smoke alarms in residential fires, from 2001-2004, 88% of the fatal fires in single-family homes occurred where there were no working smoke alarms.  In fact, according to the same study, of the residential fire deaths from 2001-2004, only 3.7% were reported as occurring in homes with working smoke alarms, an even more startling figure.  The problem is not homes without sprinklers, the problem is homes without working smoke alarms..

•Home fire sprinklers are a significant expense.  Mandates have an unreasonable impact on  housing affordability and have not been demonstrated to be a practical, cost effective assured means for reducing fire fatalities

Smoke Alarms Work, Consumers Feel Safe Without Sprinklers & Demand is Not There

 

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