About 3000 Americans die in house fires every year.

Beginning in January 2011, a change to the International Residential Code (IRC) aims to reduce that number by making fire sprinklers mandatory in all new single-family residences. Sounds good, but home-building lobbies from Texas to Georgia have defied what they call an impractical, expensive mandate, convincing legislators to pass bills overriding the requirement.

"We're not against residential fire sprinklers—as a voluntary measure," says Steven Orlowski, program manager for construction, codes and standards at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "A building code provides the minimum balance between cost, safety and welfare. You could do everything to the nth degree and get 100 percent safety, but that's not the purpose of the code."

The sprinkler mandate was one of 2400 code change proposals in the past IRC revision. The NAHB took a position on 960 proposals, with an eye on one particular concern: "You have a number of manufacturers trying to promote a specific product," Orlowski says. According to the NAHB's communications director, Calli Schmidt, "The only way for sprinkler manufacturers to make money is to focus on mandates. Otherwise, they're not financially feasible."

Maria Figueroa, of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), turns that argument back on the builders, saying their reluctance to embrace expanded rules is driven by a desire to sell houses. "Protecting lives should be a priority over profits," she says.

The California Building Industry Association estimates sprinklers will add about $5000 to the price of a new home. To reduce costs, plumbing-systems manufacturer Uponor has devised a simplified AQUASAFE system that ties into the home's existing cold-water supply. "Our system integrates with the home's plumbing, like another fixture, faucet or toilet," Uponor product manager Jayson Drake says. Insurance discounts of about 10 percent a month also chip away at the price, according to Jim Lindahl, a State Farm agent in Minnetonka, Minn. "With sprinklers, the cost and volume of the claims go down, and the severity of the claims go down. When we get to a house that has sprinklers, the damage is so much less," he says.

The fire survival rate in homes with working smoke detectors is 99.41 percent, according to the NFPA. Toss in a sprinkler, and the rate rises to 99.6 percent. "Consider how little it costs to install smoke alarms," Orlowski says. "For the cost of the sprinklers, you're really not getting a significant increase in safety." But you are, for better or worse, buying a house that's built to the latest code.

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