Posted by Dennis Herrick on January 05, 2010 at 10:07:51:
All wet: No sprinkler mandate
8 hours, 37 minutes ago
New Hampshire has a new rule requiring that all homes built after March 2012 contain a sprinkler system. The state has this rule because it has a Building Code Review Board empowered to pass such rules. It has that board because nine years ago state Sen. Bob Clegg, R-Hudson, successfully advocated a statewide building code.
Clegg's bill creating a statewide building code created the board to oversee the code. "The biggest thing is this board would be able to make subtle changes through rules," Clegg said in 2001. A sprinkler system mandate is a substantial, not a subtle, change.
Clegg's bill, which passed in 2002, empowered the commissioner of safety to appoint the board. The commissioner of safety at the time was Richard Flynn, which probably alleviated concerns that the board would overzealously regulate.
The board Flynn formerly oversaw has power it ought not have. It is no "review board." In fact, the law reverses the traditional relationship between appointed boards and legislators. The board sets policy -- the Legislature's job -- and that policy stays in place for two years pending legislative review. If legislators approve a board policy within two years of adoption, the policy stays. If not, it expires.
The new sprinkler system mandate has obvious flaws. Among them: It is costly; many New Hampshire homes are on well water, making sprinkler systems impractical; and single sprinkler heads above the stove, laundry room and heating source would be nearly as effective at a fraction of the cost.
Those flaws could have been revealed through the legislative process. Instead, an unelected, 17-member board imposed a burdensome, unnecessary regulation on the entire state.
Legislators should repeal this mandate this year. Then they should take back the policy-setting power they granted this board.
YOUR COMMENTS
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I think that Bob Clegg identified a real problem, and then applied the wrong solution. Giving such a board unilateral power to set policy was a big mistake.
This overreaching action should lead to some very real questions. What other boards have the ability to usurp the legislature's authority? What authority has been taken away from the legislature that we don't know about? What is the legislature going to do to ensure that this doesn't happen again?
- Glen, Manchester, NH
Another legacy of Bariatric Bob! As he explains in this thread, he authorized the additional rulebook out of an innocent desire for consistency, and particular rules can be opposed by forever hiring lobbyists, which is what Bob is these days. If the Republican Party wants my vote, it should promptly repudiate him.
Andy of Biddeford, the fact that the cost of a sprinkler system "can be rolled into the cost of new construction" doesn't lessen it--it just hides it. And Jesse of Orford, thanks for insisting that costs and trade-offs are important.
More fundamentally, the power to respond to emergencies should never become a blank check to impose prior restraint on us (even secretly, through our home builders) in the name of prevention. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has the unchallenged power to shut businesses down on the unquestioned assumption that their values are better than ours and costs don't matter. Prevention can never be achieved, and we never even know how close we're coming.
- Spike, Brentwood NH
If they force me to have a sprinkler, then lower my taxes and have fewer fightefighters. Fires won't be as bad so we can higher fewer.
What is next? Mandatory security systems? ADP will love that.
Mandatory ....
Special interests all over.
- Chris, Bedford
"Sen. Bob Clegg, R-Hudson, successfully advocated a statewide building code." So much for the Republican philosophy of "limited government"! Now from his Clegg for Senate bio page "He has been named Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators Association, and Home Builders & Remodelers Association of New Hampshire." Nothing like representing the voters is there. I'm sure the majority of them want to pay more to live, aren't you? Enough said!
- Steve, Raymond
Your passing comment about Commissioner Flynn was correct.
Knowing that he would be in charge of the program put a lot of minds at ease.
Too bad he isn't there anymore, and too bad that NH now has state-wide mandates that are being administered by political pygmies.
- Larry Gillis, Cape Coral FL
Andy, Biddeford, ME- adding any safety measure to the construction of a new home will save lives but that does not mean that it is a good idea. We can not protect everyone from everything at any cost and the statement that "if it saves just one life" is a bunch of bunk.
Forcing people to add $3000 to $6000 to the cost of their home is silly at best when considering the amount of recently built houses that are affected by fire. As usual the government tries to govern the masses based on the few exceptions to the rule.
- Jesse, Orford
Andy from Maine - in 2006 there were 4.6 fire deaths per million population in New Hampshire, the lowest fire death rate in the entire nation.
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/state/index.shtm
What's that, about six deaths total based on New Hampshire's population? It strikes me that the unelected Building Code Review Board has a solution in search of a problem.
Just think - there are 341,000 single-family detached housing units in New Hampshire - for the low low cost of $1,091,200,000 ($1.1 billion) all of them could be protected with $3,200 residential sprinkler systems and the state could be spared the loss of six lives each year, and an average of $5,052 per fire:
http://www.restorationsos.com/fire-damage-restoration-new-hampshire/ - "According to the Fire Administration statistics for New Hampshire fires since 1985, the average property loss per fire is $5,052."
And don't forget the necessary annual maintenance inspections on sprinkler systems. People can barely remember to change their smoke detector batteries, but never mind that.
The last time I had to hire a plumber to fix a leak in a pipe, it cost me around a hundred bucks just to have him show up with tools in hand, not to mention the cost of the repair itself.
Will the state create a new favored class of plumbers by specially licensing "sprinkler fitters," and further jack up the costs to homeowners? I wouldn't put it past them, considering that the unelected bureaucrats are ramming through this mandate at the behest of a coordinated national marketing campaign.
The cost/benefit of sprinklers may really be as good as claimed, but if that's the case, it shouldn't be necessary to ram a mandate like this down our throats.
A fire chief in Texas, speaking of his experience installing his own residential fire sprinkler system in his new home, notes:
http://firechief.com/mag/firefighting_residential_sprinklers_close/
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"In retrospect, particularly after my own personal residential sprinkler experience, I believe we've failed our residents by trying to mandate residential sprinkler protection through legislation, without a grassroots campaign to educate all the various stakeholders in the process (homebuilders, real estate brokers, insurance interests, homebuyers, politicians, alarm installers, etc.) and get them fully informed and fully involved."
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I think the Building Code Review Board is about to run into this very same brick wall.
- Michael Pelletier, Merrimack NH
Andy, show the people it is a good idea first before imposing a law and a cost on citizens. You like most other democrats (socialists) have a completely twisted view of the role of government which is shoot first and ask questions later. These sprinkler systems are expensive upwards of $10K-$20K. Maybe Andy is rolling in dough that he can just absorb it into the cost of building a home but most of us cannot. I often wonder how we all survived without the sprinkler systems that the socialist say is absolutely necessary for the safety of every human being on the planet.
- john, merrimack
Most of the posts on this topic yesterday said this, but I'll write it again...this is nothing more than excessive and expensive government intrusion into yet another part of our lives. The government is going to save us, at our expense of course.
There is no expense to be spared when lives are to be saved, according to our overzealous and well intentioned safety experts.
As humans, we are terminal. We all have to die, eventually so all of the safety rules in the world cannot deny us that one escape from this crazy planet in the end.
The vast majority of us in NH are smart enough to know how to maintain our home without a politically appointed state board to tell us what to do. Please spare us this oversight! And Andy in Maine, it starts with new homes and at the first fire in an existing home, sprinklers will be forced there and it is a slow creeping process.
Jay, I think you pegged Mr. Clegg!
- Melvin, Keene
Nice try Drew but as usual you dont bother to ask or look for the facts. The building code board was formed to end the process that had been in place that allowed codes to be developed by any agency that wanted to. Labor had an electric code and the Fire Marshall had an electric code. Too many times electricians and companies were fined because it was impossible to meet both, they conflicted. There were other examples so one board was created with a seat at the table for every faction of the building inductry,plumbers, electricians.. everyone. Each industry as well as the cities and town organization offer a representative to be appointed the commissioner doesnt go looking. That was Flynns idea to be sure politics played as small a role as possible. The rules change was was because prior to the bill the agencies never went to the legislature they went to JLCAR (Joint Legislative Committee Administrative Rules) which though it has 10 members of the legislature, cannot stop a rule without filing a piece of legislation. The new way was for the board, after public hearings, to set a rule which they MUST bring before the legislature for approval within 2 years. Prior to the bill a rule never had to go and be approved by the entire legislature.
Next time give me a call. I dont mid explaining what happened. I wouldnt mind telling you the only people against the bill were the ones who liked making rules in the dark. I dont mind if you went and asked the folks who requested the bill. They were small business folks who were tired of being the revenue base for agencies and they were the building officials who found that small business was unfairly regulated. Together we made a difference. Together we are fighting the new regulation as the law allows us to do. It cant be done in the dark any more
- Bob Clegg, Hudson
What research is there that shows using wells for sprinkler systems is impractical? Very little, if any, as there are many homes in towns which already have these requirements which indeed are fed by wells.
What research is there that shows 3 sprinkler heads would be just as effective? These 3 locat1ons wouldn't help protect against fires which start due to overloaded power cords, lightning strikes, or careless use of open flame in any other room.
How many people died in fires at home as reported in your paper in just the past year? Any measure that helps protect people from fire is a measure that will absolutely save lives.
This measure is for new construction homes, where the cost would still be significant, but can be rolled into the overall cost of constructing a home. Nevermind the added value of such a system, both monetarily and due to the added sense of safety. Show the people the proof that this is a bad idea.
- Andy, Biddeford, ME
It figures that Clegg was involved in this. He's one of the single worst republicans NH has ever elected. This is the overweight guy who got a stomach reducing operation, and then forced all health plans in the state to offer this service cause it was near & dear to his heart. Clegg was/is the kind of republican that came into the NHGOP in the 90s and helped ruin the party.
He's nothing but a busybody, and if the NHGOP was a healthy party this guy would have run as the democrat he is. Let' get the power out of the hands of this board....this was an absurd thing to pass. Think of how stupid this rule is in a state where most of the citizens & business are on well-water for pete's sake !
- Jay Collins, Laconia