LIHU‘E — A bill before the Hawai‘i Legislature that would prohibit counties from requiring new or existing one- and two-family dwellings to be equipped with a fire sprinkler system has progressed further at the state Legislature.
The Senate Water, Land and Housing Committee on Thursday recommended passage of Senate Bill 2397, unamended.
The bill goes against a position the Kaua‘i Fire Commission and Kaua‘i Fire Department Chief Robert Westerman adopted last year, when the commission supported creation of a law requiring fire sprinklers in one- and two-family dwellings.
Westerman said on Feb. 13 he would support a mandate in the county’s building code for those types of dwellings to be built with fire sprinklers. If that were to happen, the Kaua‘i Fire Code would be responsible for detailing the installation and maintenance of fire sprinklers.
On Tuesday, Westerman submitted written testimony to the committee in which he states KFD and the State Fire Council, of which he is a member, “strongly oppose” the bill.
Last year’s Legislature requested the State Building Code Council to submit a report prior to the 2015 Legislature containing its findings, recommendations and actions taken to adopt the requirement that automatic fire sprinklers be installed in new one- and two-family dwellings, according to Westerman.
The council is currently reviewing the 2009 edition of the International Building and Residential Codes, which requires sprinklers in such dwellings as minimum requirements, he said. The council formed a fire sprinkler investigative committee including many stakeholders, and work is ongoing.
“It would be a disservice to the community to enact an anti-sprinkler law based on one viewpoint without considering the research done by this committee, which represents all interests,” Westerman states.
Westerman is not the only top fire official in the state opposed to the Senate bill.
Honolulu Fire Department Chief and State Fire Council Chair Kenneth Silva, along with Maui Fire Department Chief Jeffrey Murray sent nearly identical testimony to the committee.
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply sided with the fire chiefs. But the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau and several developers sent testimony supporting the bill, citing increased building and renovation costs if sprinklers are mandated.
A House of Representatives version of the bill, HB 1795, was introduced Jan. 13, but didn’t make it far. Their Housing Committee on Feb. 1 recommended deferral of the bill, killing it for this session.
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