Gilroy
– More homes inside city limits will be required to install fire
sprinklers after the city revises its fire sprinkler ordinance this
fall.
Fire sprinkler systems already are required for hillside homes
or residential structures larger than 5,000 square feet.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – More homes inside city limits will be required to install fire sprinklers after the city revises its fire sprinkler ordinance this fall.
Fire sprinkler systems already are required for hillside homes or residential structures larger than 5,000 square feet.
Among the possible changes are requiring sprinklers: in all new homes, in homes outside the fire department’s four-minute response area or in areas where fire department access is an issue. Also, the threshold at which fire sprinklers are required for buildings may be lowered below the current 3,000 square feet for commercial buildings and 5,000 square feet for residential.
“Fire sprinklers are the only protection to really prevent the spread and damage of a fire,” Fire Marshal Jackie Bretschneider said. “Everything else that’s done, whether smoke alarms to get you out of the house, whether it’s the fire department, … the fire department only gets there after there’s a fire. And there’s going to be significant damage before the fire is put out.”
Even the smallest structure fires have an impact on the community because they displace homeowners for six months to a couple years, or can displace renters permanently, she said.
City Councilman Craig Gartman said sprinkler systems have become less expensive, as have other home safety technologies.
“Legislating safety into buildings has always been part of our responsibility on the local, state, and federal level,” he said.
Fire sprinklers would add a cost of roughly $1.50 per square foot, or $3,000 for a 2,000-square-foot home, Bretschneider said. The plastic dyed-orange piping would run throughout the house and draw from the same water supply as the home’s water service.
“It is the one sure way to deal with long response times, not having a huge fire department,” Bretschneider said.
Any structure fire automatically calls for an engine from Santa Clara County/California Department of Forestry in addition to two engines and one paramedic unit from Gilroy fire. A typical fire deployment requires 14 to 15 firefighters, while Gilroy staffs 11 at a time.
As the ordinance stands, builders already can be required to install fire sprinkler systems if the home or development impacts the fire department’s response, Bretschneider said.
As developers plan neighborhoods with smaller lots, smaller streets, and homes closer together, it can be difficult for the fire department to reach a home quickly enough, Bretschneider said. In-fill projects, in particular, can have cul-de-sacs not wide enough for a fire truck to turn around or for several trucks to park.
Local developer James Suner installs sprinklers in some in-fill projects, including Carriage Park on Farrell Avenue, to work with the size of the site.
“It gives us flexibility with the site design,” he said. “On in-fill, we need flexibility on turnarounds (for fire engines).”
The city will be soliciting input from developers such as Suner until the final draft of the revised ordinance goes before City Council, likely in October, Bretschneider said. She is also planning a community workshop for some time next month.
Suner said he will be part of that process, and would support requiring sprinklers on in-fill projects such as his.
“If you’re building a 2,000-square-foot unit, that’s not a large dollar amount,” he said. “It saves the homeowners on their insurance as well. And as a builder, you can market it as an amenity, like having an alarm system or a solar system – it’s an upgrade.”
On larger projects, though, sprinklers could be “overkill,” Suner said. With full-sized streets, fire hydrants, turn-around room, and stucco houses with fireproof roofs, the fire department response is adequate, he said.
“Most new homes you couldn’t burn down with 5 gallons of gasoline and a blow torch,” he said.
City Councilman Bob Dillon said during a recent council retreat that he would support requiring sprinklers in all new construction.
“I don’t see why we don’t make it mandatory for new homes,” he said. “It’s a half-percent (of the sale price). It saves lives. Why quibble?”
Mayor Al Pinheiro wasn’t sold on the idea of requiring all new homeowners to pay for the added security.
“I’m reluctant to say we’re going to require all them to be sprinkled,” Pinheiro said. “I come from an insurance background where you choose to have certain risks.”
