In-home sprinkler ordinance expected to spark controversy

While most of the California state fire code is expected to be adopted at the county level without protest, Shasta County Fire Marshal Jim Diehl said that the sprinkler ordinance will get the most attention.

The code mandates a sprinkler system be included in the construction of almost all new structures, including single-family homes. Cost for sprinklers averages at $1.50 per square foot of a structure, said Anderson Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Howard Fincher.

Diehl said pre-existing multi-family residential structures may be required to retrofit their buildings with sprinkler systems under the new ordinance.

Diehl was reticent to discuss the ordinance's proposed requirements, as they are still being hashed out by city and county fire districts.

"I have no idea what the final product will look like," Diehl said.

Still, Diehl said he hoped the sprinkler ordinance would pass when the new fire code is voted on by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors several months from now.

The Orange County Fire Authority released a video comparing fires in similar residential buildings - while only one was equipped with sprinklers.

"Fire sprinklers control a fire prior to flashover," Fincher said. "Flashover is a phenomenon that occurs when so much heat is produced by a fire that other combustibles in the area are preheated to their ignition temperature through radiation and convection."

In the non-sprinklered building, it took less than two minutes for room temperature to reach 1,600 degrees at 7 ft., 420 degrees at 4 ft., and 132 degrees at ground level. In 13 minutes, even the ground-level room temperature reached 1,249 degrees.

"You're long gone by then," Fincher said.

In the building with the sprinkler system, the ground-level temperature never went higher than 82 degrees before the fire was eventually put out.

"That's a survivable environment," Fincher said.

Aside from indicating the importance of moving along the floor during a fire, the video showed how adept sprinklers are at putting out fires.

The sprinkler system is generally programed to start when it senses 168 degrees, at which point the sprinklers spray water and a fine mist within an engineered radius. The mist is heated by the fire in the room, turns to steam, and helps to wet a larger area.

The sprinklers emit about 20 gallons per minute, Fincher said.

"A little bit of water goes a long way, because it catches the fire in its growth state," he said. "It does add to the cost of a new home, but the savings are that you may save your child's life," Fincher said.

Additionally, Fincher said that the presence of sprinklers allows firefighters more time to get to control a fire before a building is destroyed. This factor would be especially relevant in the understaffed Anderson Protection District, he said, where firefighters cannot enter a building until at least three firefighters are on scene.