FWIW - here is an email I received on another list from someone in attendance:
Well, folks-we won again, by the narrowest of margins. I've just returned home after spending the day in Harrisburg at the hearing. Debate began shortly after 10 this morning, and save an hour for lunch, concluded at about 1730. A few things took place which I think angered a few council members and swung them over to us: A fellow from the PA Builders Assn was going on about leaving it to be a local choice, and after it was pointed out that every time a municipality tries to choose sprinklers, they end up mired in litigation and appeals, the disingenuous nature of their claim was made clear. A statistics guy from the NAHB was going on at length with a bunch of numbers and how many millions it would cost the building industry just to save .3% of the population above the protection afforded by smoke detectors. A young engineer type on the Council asked him, "What if that .3% is my child?" It was an eye opener for some of them, that we're not arguing about dollars and cents-we're arguing about people being alive after their fire is extinguished, and also wanting all the responders to go home, free of injury or worse. Before voting, the Chair (who is a builder) wanted to get two people on the phone who hadn't been there all day so they could vote. A few members objected to this, because they hadn't had the benefit of hearing ~ 7 worth of testimony, both pro and con, and therefore couldn't cast an informed ballot. Finally, it was moved, seconded, and affirmed that those people who were not in attendance, and weren't listening to the presentations would not be permitted to cast a vote. So, the votes came down 10-7 for leaving RB 64 and 66 in the 2009 ICC. We had a wide range of support ranging from Ed Mann and other senior staff to career and volunteer personnel from all parts of the state. I'm happy about this, but wouldn't consider it over just yet. I'll be quite surprised if the builders don't attempt some other sleight of hand to circumvent today's votes. James M. Kettler, EFO, CFPS Director of Building and Codes/Fire Marshal Buckingham Township PO Box 413 4613 Hughesian Drive Buckingham, PA 18912 215-794-8836 www.buckinghampa.org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
