New building codes are meandering through the bureaucratic process that will require sprinkler systems in single family homes.
There is a web site that talks about this mandate, and urges people to write their legislators and the Governor to urge that the upcoming “bonding bill” be amended to reject this new mandate.
The people who put up the web site do a good job of laying out the high costs of installation and the downsides of sprinklers in homes. For instance, the massive damage to the home if pipes in the ceiling freeze and burst—a plausible scenario in our Minnesota winters as insulation in the attic settles over time. The web site points out that with egress windows and smoke detectors already required, the sprinklers are an expensive way to address a declining threat.
Those who benefit from this mandate are the builders and vendors of sprinkler systems. They will reap a windfall if the requirement goes through, and like anyone selling a product, they say that it is all to the good.
The debate over this legislation is misguided. If you weigh all the pros and cons, it might seem possible to come to a consensus on whether or not the mandate is a good idea. Unfortunately, this is completely wrong. The legislature and the public are debating a question where they should have no role in the decision. It is my house. It is my money spent on the sprinklers – or not. It is my family that is protected or put at risk, and my responsibility to do my best in providing the best home I can with the resources I have. I can do a thousand things in my home that are far more dangerous than not having a sprinkler. No one is discussing banning wood stoves, or candles. No one is considering banning lawn mowers or hedge trimmers or extension ladders.
The arrogance of people who debate what they will require in our private homes is outrageous. The real reason this mandate should be rejected is that it is none of the legislature’s or other voters’ business to tell us what safety devices we choose to install in our homes. We must insist on the right to spend our precious resources to pursue the happiness of our families, not the happiness of the legislators, lobbyists, and voters who will never live in our houses.
Follow me on Twitter: @donlee1037
