Sprinkler Ordinances, Amendments and Code Adoption

Sprinkler Ordinances, Amendments and Code
Adoption

This page contains resource information to help you to prepare for the process of achieving a code adoption, amendment or residential sprinkler ordinance in your community.

Given the proven effectiveness of residential sprinkler systems, we would like to think that they would be installed routinely on a voluntary basis. Public education efforts over the years have resulted in many homeowners voluntarily installing systems in their homes, but the reality is that we will never see widespread use of sprinklers in homes until doing so is required by code or ordinance.

There are several means by which your community can adopt sprinkler requirements:

You can include residential sprinkler requirement language in your municipality's existing code. If your community has adopted the NFPA1 code, go to the NFPA link for sample language that you can use to amend the code.

If your community has adopted the International Residential Code, you may go to the ICC- International Residential Code link for information on how to make use of the code language therein.

If you are not proposing to require residential sprinkler via code adoption or amendment, you may be able to accomplish your goal by adopting a stand-alone sprinkler ordinance. For sample ordinance language click here.

Depending on your municipality's procedures, you may be able to simply add stand-alone residential fire sprinkler requirement language into the existing municipal code. Some or all of the model ordinance language previously noted may be helpful in that process.

If you need further information, or if you have model language that we may be able to include for others to use, please contact RFSI at: info@firemarshals.org.

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