The net effect will be to put new home ownership out of reach of many hard working South Carolinians. Basic economics teaches us that as the price of a product increases, the demand diminishes. Subsequently, the already fragile housing and overall economy will suffer a $100 million annual negative impact, further hampering any recovery. This change in the code was adopted without any cost / benefit study and without the vote of a single elected official. Next week our legislators will be considering bills (S.1057 and H.4663) that will remove this mandate just as North Carolina and Georgia have already done.

Homebuilders share in the goal of preventing fire related deaths, but feel that that keeping safer, new homes affordable is the best way to achieve this, not by requiring the installation of an expensive technology. Unfortunately, this unfunded mandate will not prevent fire tragedies in older homes, where they most often occur, because they are unaffected by this code. The number of fire related deaths in South Carolina’s single family homes has trended downward over the past twenty years, even as the population has increased by over one million residents. This has been the direct result of a higher percentage of people living in newer homes as the result of that population increase. At the same time, many of the housing authorities in the state undertook aggressive plans to replace older, unsafe public housing units. As a result, the average age of the housing stock in SC declined and the number of people killed in residential fires did likewise.  Subsequently, the very valid question arises; can we afford to spend over $100 million a year on a problem that is getting better on its own?

New homes are built safer than ever before. 
The stated causes of residential fire deaths points to occupants of older homes being much more vulnerable in that a significant number are attributed to faulty heaters and electrical systems. It is almost unheard of for a modern furnace to catch fire and newer, safer electrical systems are designed to trip the circuit breaker before a fire starts. Other cost effective code changes over the years have improved fire safety by implementing building techniques, materials and fire separation that reduce flame spread. Openings in bedrooms are also larger in new homes which improve fire fighter access and the occupant’s ability to escape.

But possibly the most effective safety feature found in new homes is an interconnected and hard-wired smoke alarm system with battery back up.  With these systems, if one alarm sounds, they all go off alerting the whole family to a possible fire and giving them time to get out alive.  The National Fire Protection Association reported that the chance of surviving a fire when working smoke detectors are present is 99.45%. Thanks to the widespread installation of residential smoke alarm systems in recent years, South Carolinians are safer than they’ve ever been. In fact, according to an August 2006 U.S. Fire Administration study, only 3.7% of all the residential fire deaths from 2001-2004 were reported in homes with working smoke alarms. 

Even though they account for 1/3 of all residential fire deaths in South Carolina over the past 10 years, Mobile homes are exempt from this new code because they are largely built in other states. Failure to pass these bills will give mobile homes a greater cost advantage over traditional single family homes, driving many buyers to this less expensive option. The resulting loss of real property taxes and housing related jobs in local communities could potentially have a devastating effect. Still, fire sprinkler manufacturers and installers would like to see this mandated for single family homes. In that what will be a $100 million+ tax on home buyers, it will be a windfall for them.

While smoke detector systems can be retrofitted to one’s home, so may fire sprinkler systems, even though very few people nationwide, including firemen have chosen to do so. In 30 years as a builder, I can never recall a purchaser asking for one, yet this code change forces home buyers to buy a product they have not chosen on their own. As a compromise, and part of this legislation, homebuilders have offered to counsel all buyers on fire sprinklers and make them optional for every new home built in the state, so buyers can chose what is right for them.

As 2010 President of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina (HBASC) I can unequivocally state that mandating residential fire sprinklers will put the dream of homeownership out of reach for many South Carolinians. Consumers should be given the final choice whether or not to install fire sprinklers as they have in many other states. We implore upon the House and Senate to protect home affordability and the freedom of choice for South Carolinians by passing these bills.  
 
Steven Mungo is the CEO of Mungo Homes and the 2010 President for the Home Builders Association of South Carolina.