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Great response to someone who answered your invitation for a specific example. But I'll die on this hill. I can totally understand requiring them in multi-fami
by mikeg8 4y ago
Great response to someone who answered your invitation for a specific example. But I'll die on this hill.
I can totally understand requiring them in multi-family or town-homes where there are shared walls - but not in single family homes. A residential fire suppression system for a ~2,500 Sqft home can cost anywhere from $10-25k to include on a new build in northern CA (I know from recent bids). That isn't a negligible cost and mandating them for smaller dwellings (in my county it's anything over 1,000 sqft) is a fine example of regulation that has "great" intentions but is making affordable housing un-afforable.
- 8note 4y agoAre single family homes what's being considered affordable housing?
- mlyle 4y agoIt's also questionable if they save lives in single family dwellings, and also questionable whether the property damage they prevent from fires is larger than the property damage they cause through inadvertent activation/leaks/etc.
- m0llusk 4y agoActually, the statistics are rather stark. Without sprinklers people may be seriously injured or killed by fire. With sprinklers present and functioning risk of injury or death from fire becomes negligible.
- pclmulqdq 4y agoIs this true in single family dwellings or only in apartment complexes? I would believe that sprinklers have a lot of value in apartment complexes but less value in single family homes. Not to mention that people who buy single family homes are a lot more likely to have more expensive furniture that would be ruined by a flood.
- andbberger 4y agoyour assumption that only poor people live in apartments is troubling and very american
- mlyle 4y agoI do think it's probably a fair assumption that people in apartments have less expensive furnishings than people in houses.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoThey specifically wrote “a lot more likely” so they clearly do not believe ONLY poor people live in apartments.
- mlyle 4y ago> > It's also questionable if they save lives in single family dwellings > Actually, the statistics are rather stark. AFAIK, this is all information about multi-family dwellings and has not been demonstrated in single family homes. The benefit of sprinklers is certainly more obvious in large buildings with multiple residences inside, in slowing fires from reaching new dwelling units. I find plenty of factsheets about residential sprinklers, that cite numbers of 80% reduction in death... which then ends up relying upon benefits seen in apartments... and which mostly evaporates when controlling for income.
- dredmorbius 4y agoThis discussion (both sides) would benefit greatly from some citations to back up assertions.