May 31, 2000
Re: House Bill No. 2458 - Pennsylvania
Fire Sprinklers Save Lives!
Protecting the lives of the best and brightest of America’s future is public leadership; protecting against the loss of educational facilities is public responsibility.
Fire sprinklers in college and university residences is an investment, not an expense.
Firefighters who serve a community containing a college or university will tell you about the fire hazards in student housing. How the flammable contents and potential for ignition has and continues to grow. They can also tell you about the lack of compliance students give to fire alarms and evacuation orders. They can tell you about students who have abused alcohol and other substances and cannot evacuate a burning building on their own, even if they wanted to.
We all are aware of the bouts of exhaustion that are part of a student’s life and their ability to sleep through anything.
When a fire occurs in a residential building full of students, the responding firefighters must pray that all will try to get out on their own steam. There are usually far too many students and not enough firefighters to reach them all. Time is working against the lives of those students.
For these reasons and more, students must be protected like others who require additional time or assistance, like hospital patients, for example. Students must be protected where they live and fire sprinklers are the answer. Installing a sprinkler head in a room is like having a firefighter stationed in that room 24 hours a day with a hose ever ready. University and college housing should all be protected with fire sprinkler systems. Fraternity and sorority houses, rooming houses and apartment buildings, anywhere students live should have fire sprinkler systems installed in them. Fire sprinkler systems are the answer.
There simply are no informed dissenting voices to that statement – “Fire sprinkler systems are the answer.” Then why is regulatory action required? Because there are two recurring myths that cloud the issue for many people.
The first myth is a concern for an unexplained non-fire related sprinkler operation. In an April 14th 2000 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, David Best, President of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Student Congress, is quoted as saying, “In terms of safety, of course it makes sense, but what happens if they misfire and go off for no reason?” The obvious answer is you might get wet or suffer some inconvenience, not a bad option. But the reality is it doesn’t happen. History has shown this is not an issue. Loss records of Factory Mutual Research indicate that the probability of a sprinkler discharging accidentally due to a manufacturing defect is 1 in 16 million sprinklers per year in service. David Best’s sentiments, however, reveal a different problem, perceived invincibility, that false sense of security that being threatened by fire will never happen to me. It is only with this misconception that the thought of water damage seems a concern.
The second myth is that fire sprinkler systems are expensive. This simply is not so. It is helpful to address cost both as part of new construction or as a component of a major renovation, and as retrofitting, installing a sprinkler system in an existing structure as the primary activity.
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In new construction, a cost of $2.00 to $3.00 a square foot, is a typical range for a dormitory-type structure. Although many factors impact cost, such as an available water supply, building height, type of construction, room size and configuration, as examples, it remains reasonable to budget in this range. This is before any construction credits are taken from the design options made available in the building code by fire sprinklers.
In retrofit applications, the cost is higher, mainly because the efficiencies of working in sequence with general construction are gone. The need to penetrate existing walls and partitions is an example. Typically, the work will also be expected to be performed in a more accelerated time frame, influenced by the educational calendar. Even with these additional requirements, a reasonable cost range for dormitories is $2.50 to $4.50 per square foot. There should be few exceptions to the high end, except potentially in the case of historic structures, upscale facilities and some structures with penthouses or gabled roof structures.
The cost of fire sprinkler retrofit is minimal with respect to the alternative, the risk of loss of life and the loss of tenable space, including both loss of revenue and refurbishment expense. It is important to note that the risk retention, or the deductible for a fire loss in cash expense, under the Commonwealth’s supplemental insurance program is one million dollars per occurrence.
For perspective on cost, using the following assumptions:
a. Double Occupancy – Average Room Size 12’ x 16’
b. Fire Sprinkler Retrofit Cost - $3.00 per square foot with a 20% contingency
c. State Supported Loan Program – 10 year term at 2% per annum
Then: Per Occupant = (12’ x 16’)/2 = 96 square feet
Cost = 96 square feet x $3.00/square foot = $288
Plus 20% contingency = $346
Financed @ 2 semesters per year for ten years @ 2% = approximately $19 in principal and interest per student per semester per room over 10 years. Conservatively, use $20 assuming no summer session or other revenue source.
Therefore: The cost per occupant per semester is a small fraction of one textbook or two large pizzas, without additional toppings.
Remember, that this twenty-dollar cost is with the incorrect assumption there will be no offsetting losses or fire occurrences over the ten-year term. The savings in the operating budget allowance for fire repairs will reduce the realized cost of a sprinkler retrofit program.
As a parent with two sons in college and one who experienced a sprinkler save in a fraternity fire this past December, I know that what this bill proposes is an extraordinary value, a bargain.
In the best interest of students, parents, our colleges, universities, fraternities and sororities, and the Commonwealth, I strongly encourage that you move and seek adoption of this bill.
Sincerely,
Ausmus S. Marburger
President
Fire Protection Industries, Inc.