As national regulators consider requiring fire sprinklers in every new home, one local fire district is pushing to make it a condition for homes built on the Northwest Side.
Already, large homes built on the edge of the district are required to have sprinklers installed in every home, but fire officials want the requirement extended to all new homes built in fast-growing areas of Marana and Pima County.
The sprinklers, which add about $3,000 to the price of a new home, are an unnecessary regulation, some home builders said.
Fire officials say the increased cost is balanced by discounted home insurance rates, although according to a survey of two large insurance companies, the discounts would take years to equal the extra cost.
But homeowners could see other savings where it matters most: life and property.
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Homeowners who have sprinklers experience about $40,000 less damage than homeowners who don't, according to a 15-year study done by the Scottsdale Fire Department. Once sprinklers were triggered, they stopped fires 93 percent of the time.
And when it comes to life-saving, the same study found that fire sprinklers are perfect: there were no deaths in homes where sprinklers were installed.
During the same time period, the study found that 13 people were killed in homes where fire sprinklers weren't installed.
Because the sprinklers activate when a fire begins, they have a better chance of putting out a fire than firefighters responding minutes after a blaze sets off an alarm, said Northwest Fire/Rescue District Fire Marshall Randy Karrer.
"It's like having 25 to 30 firefighters in your house," he said.
The cost of safety
Any home built in Northwest Fire/Rescue District that's bigger than 3,600 square feet and more than 500 feet away from a fire hydrant has to be outfitted with sprinklers, according to the district's fire code.
During a Governing Board meeting on Tuesday, fire officials will seek to expand the fire code, making sprinklers mandatory in model homes so that potential buyers can see what the devices look like.
In the future, district officials would like to expand the requirement to all homes under construction.
The cost could be added to a mortgage payment and save homeowners money on their insurance rates, Karrer said.
Ed Taczanowsky, president of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, said any price increase and extra regulation is unnecessary.
Builders have already incorporated fire safety into construction, including built-in firewall breaks in walls and fire-resistant materials installed in garages.
"Most of the fires are in older homes," Taczanowsky said. "We have fire safety construction built in."
SAHBA officials don't doubt the sprinklers' abilities to save life and property, Taczanowsky said.They just think homeowners should have the choice.
But one Marana home builder said he understands the need for fire sprinklers.
"It gives homeowners peace of mind," said Jim Carlson, senior vice president of Nicholas Homes. "We're glad to offer them and, when we're required to put them in, we support it."
The Scottsdale-based developer and SAHBA member is building 224 homes in Vanderbilt, a development near Gladden Farms in Marana. Home prices range from $235,000 and $350,000 and sprinklers are an option for buyers.
While it's important to realize that any added feature could price people out of homes, fire sprinklers don't add too much extra cost, Carlson said.
Estimates show that a $3,000 fire sprinkler system increases a home's mortgage by about $20 a month.
"We're always trying to control the cost of housing," Carlson said. "While it's not the popular vote, because of rising costs, we think it's a benefit."
Sprinkler myths
Potential buyers often have misconceptions about fire sprinklers, said Scottsdale Fire Marshall Jim Ford.
People have visions of a small fire setting off sprinklers throughout a house, or having a sprinkler malfunction and soak their living room.
That just doesn't happen, said Ford, whose department was one of the first in the country to require sprinklers in new homes.
Each sprinkler operates independently, meaning it will only activate when a fire is nearby. (See illustration for more detail.)
And the chance of a sprinkler failing is one in 16 million, according to the Scottsdale study.
Residential fire sprinklers are designed to blend in with homes and don't stick out of the ceiling the way commercial fire sprinklers do, Ford said.
Homeowners often worry that a sprinkler will cause unnecessary water damage when it goes off to put out a fire.
But if there is a fire, firefighters are going to rip down doors, cut holes in roofs and pour about 14 times more water on a fire, Ford said.
A sprinkler head uses an average of 357 gallons of water to put out a fire, while firefighters use an average of 4,884 gallons, according to Scottsdale's study.
"As soon as we open a fire hose, water damage kills everything," Ford said. "Sprinklers will turn off."
The sprinkler will catch a fire two minutes after it begins, while it can take firefighters much longer.
"With sprinklers, the fire's out before we even get there," he said. "By the time we get the alarm, load up and respond, we're 10 to 15 minutes into the event."
Will sprinklers pay off?
Opponents of requiring fire sprinklers to be installed in new homes often cite the installation cost — around $3,000 — arguing that it increases home prices and could price out home buyers. Fire officials counter that by installing the system, home owners save money on their home insurance, which is usually included in a mortgage payment.
So, would a Northwest Side resident save money by installing sprinklers?
While homeowners would save money on their insurance premiums — most insurance companies offer between 4 and 10 percent off home insurance rates for homes that have sprinklers — the savings don't equal the cost of adding home sprinklers. However, fire officials said the financial loss associated with a fire in a home without sprinklers — $45,019 — as opposed to a home with sprinklers — $2,166 — also should be considered.
Below are examples on insurance rates and savings.
Allstate
The company offers a 3 percent discount on home insurance rates when fire sprinklers are installed. The company offers another 1 percent discount if residents either install an alarm system that's connected to emergency services or put smoke alarms on each floor and buy a fire extinguisher.
The numbers breakdown:
$673 — The average annual Allstate rate for a $300,000 home in Northwest Tucson.
$26.92 — The annual savings a homeowner could expect by installing sprinklers and either an alarm or smoke detector and fire extinguisher.
$240 — An estimate on the extra money a home owner would pay each year on a mortgage for the cost of installing fire sprinklers.
Using Allstate's discount, it would take a homeowner roughly nine years of discounts to equal one year of extra mortgage costs associated with adding sprinklers.
State Farm
The company offers a 5 percent discount on home insurance rates if a home has partial sprinkler coverage. It offers a 10 percent discount if the house is fully covered by sprinklers.
The numbers breakdown:
$658 — The average State Farm rate for a $300,000 home in Northwest Tucson.
$65.80 — The annual savings a home owner could expect by installing sprinklers.
$240 — An estimate on the extra money a home owner would pay each year on a mortgage for the cost of installing fire sprinklers.
Using State Farm's discount, it would take a homeowner a little more than three and a half years to equal one year of extra mortgage costs associated with adding sprinklers.
Sources: Allstate and State Farm insurance, Arizona Department of Insurance
By the numbers
$20
Estimated increase in a monthly mortgage payment to cover the cost of installing a sprinkler system
$711
Average annual home insurance premium for a $300,000 home on the Northwest Side
$2,166
Average property loss for fires in homes with sprinklers
$45,019
Average property loss for fires in homes without sprinklers
357
The average number of gallons of water used by home sprinklers during a fire
4,884
The average number of gallons of water used by firefighters during a fire in a home without sprinklers
Sources: Scottsdale Fire Department, Arizona Department of Insurance
