I picked this up from another email group.
Jim Kettler Fire Marshal Buckingham, PA Huntley repeals fire sprinkler law By Tim Kane | Special to the Chicago Tribune September 8, 2007 Despite opposition from fire officials, one of the Chicago area's fastest-growing communities has dropped a requirement that new houses be fitted with residential sprinkler systems. Huntley Village Board members voted 3-2 Thursday night to repeal a two-year-old ordinance. Proponents of the move said the requirement made homes in the village more expensive than those in neighboring towns. "I resent the oversimplification that sprinklers are good, and not having them is bad, and if we oppose sprinklers we don't care," Trustee Harry Leopold said. "Allow residents to choose if they want sprinklers." Village officials had adopted an ordinance requiring fire-suppression sprinklers in new homes, effective May 1, 2005, at the urging of the Huntley Fire Protection District, a separate government agency. More than 1,300 homes built since then have sprinklers. On Thursday, Fire Protection District Chief James Saletta was joined by dozens of fire officials and firefighters from suburban departments in opposing Huntley's move. "Sprinklers for fire suppression is the best tool we've got," Saletta said Friday. "Nine out of 10 fire deaths occur before firetrucks leave the station." Supporting the repeal were home-building and real estate groups, including the Addison-based Attainable Housing Alliance and the McHenry County Association of Realtors, which said sprinklers should be an option for home buyers rather than a requirement. The ordinance change does not affect multifamily dwellings. Fire-suppression systems continue to be required for all new apartments, condominiums and town homes, village officials said. More than 40 communities in Illinois require fire sprinkler systems in new single-family homes, according to the non-profit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
