Sprinkler safety wanting New law requiring fire aid still falls short in growing Weber By CATHY McKITRICK_ Standard-Examiner staff OGDEN - A top local fire official says a new law requiring fire sprinklers in certain homes in Weber County falls short for long-term needs. Ted Black, fire marshal for the Weber Fire District, called an ordinance passed last week by the Weber County Commission a "stop-gap" measure. "At some point we will have to address water issues in Weber County. We're rapidly approaching that time," he said. As more subdivisions are built, home sizes increase, and a five-year drought con- tinues, residential sprinkling systems have taken their place among firefighting tools. The new ordinance requires new homes exceeding 5,000 square feet, in areas of inadequate fireflow, to be equipped with sprinklers. Fireflow is the amount of water available to fight a fire on a specific structure. It often is low in rural areas of Weber County. To help fireflow, the fire district will beef up the ability to supply water at the scene of a fire. The district's board of trustees recently approved $80,000 for the purchase of a tanker truck that can carry 5,400 gallons. While the county's ordinance applies only to unincorporated areas, the district will present the same modifications to city councils of the five cities it serves: Farr West, Hooper, Huntsville, Marriott-Slaterville and West Haven. "I think this is a good compromise that provides ade- quate protection, but I'm still a proponent of sprinkler systems," said Dave Austin, fire chief for Weber Fire District. "There's a lot of data supporting their proficiency in saving lives and containing fires." Several factors must be considered in residential applications, said Dan Morten-sen, a Salt Lake City firefighter who is currently building a small home in 21 Eden, in which he does not want to install sprinklers. "I'm in favor of sprinkling systems and believe they're absolutely necessary in commercial buildings and high rises," he said. "And there are residential applications where they should be necessary, but each jurisdiction needs to look at all the variables. Blanket policy is not the best way to apply the code on sprinklers." Joe Anderson, fire mar- shal for Northview, also touts the benefits of residential fire sprinklers but opposes strict mandates across the board. He considers Weber County's new ordinance "lenient." "Sprinklers do a great job of holding a fire in check," Anderson said. "Ideally, if every residence had sprinklers, fire damage and loss of life would be cut way down. But that's not economically feasible. We need to be realistic." The trend toward larger homes in rural areas makes the issue more serious. "Sprinklers make it a little less critical that fire crews arrive so quickly. If you don't have sprinklers, you need stations strategically located," Black said. There are many misconceptions about sprinklers. "Some people think that all the heads activate at the same time, but that's not the case," said Alan Larson, Aquasafe Brand Manager for Uponor Wirsbo, which manufactures a multipurpose sprinkler system. "They're individually heat-sensitive and go off one at a time when they reach a certain temperature." Another misconception, Larson said, is a high-failure mode. "The data the industry puts out indicates chance of failure at one in 16 million. Your chances of winning the lottery are better," he said. Sprinklers release 10 to 15 gallons of water per minute, compared with about 250 gallons per minute pouring from a fire hose, Larson said. You can reach reporter Cathy McKitrick at 625-4252 or e-mail cmckitrick@stan-dard.net. CO March 31, 2003