BIA Advocate

The possibility of mandatory sprinker systems for single family homes in Ohio is now in the hands of the Ohio Board of Building Standards (OBBS).

On March 17, the Ohio Home Builders Association held a roundtable meeting with OBBS members and staff, as well as building officials from around Ohio to discuss the OBBS process for new code adoption and the best methods to provide input on potential new codes.  This meeting and discussion was based on the process used for the previously adopted energy and electric codes, and the new energy and sprinkler codes that will be considered by OBBS.

In 2008, the International Code Council held a very controversial vote to include mandatory sprinklers in its code book. The NAHB cried foul over the voting process - after defeating this issues several times in the past.  Approximately 700 individuals attended a Sunday morning session to vote only on agenda items related to sprinklers – a near doubling of votes counted when compared to every other issue considered at the conference. NAHB’s appeals were denied and the recommendation stood.  On a web site of advocates for mandatory sprinklers, a recent headline on a story was telling to help demonstrate that this issue will not go away soon:

Residential Fire Sprinkler Market Potential Exceeds $3 Billion Annually –
Over 10,000 Additional Skilled Workers Needed
(Residential Fire Sprinklers .com)