- Residential Fire Sprinkler - Update as of September 15, 2014 The information provided is a state-by-state status of the 2009 IRC adoption and legislation activities as reported by HBA s. NAHB staff monitors and updates the status of the information presented below periodically, and does its best to verify the accuracy of the information provided. Any incorrect or misinformation should be brought to the attention of Steven Orlowski at sorlowski@nahb.org. Green States- No Action Reported Yellow States- Blue States- Mandatory Requirements Defeated Red States- Mandate Approved Purple States- Partial Mandate AL / AK / AZ / CA / CO / CT / DE / DC / FL / GA / HI / ID / IL / IN / IA / KS / KY / LA / ME / MD / MA / MI / MN / MS / MO / MT / NE / NV / NH / NJ / NM / NY / NC / ND / OH / OK / OR / PA / RI / SC / SD / TN / TX / UT / VT / VA / WA / WV / WI / WY State Status Current Action Alabama Alaska of a nationally recognized code that will mandate residential Passed Legislation that will not permit any jurisdiction to adopt any ordinance that will mandate residential sprinklers in one- and twofamily dwellings that is not properly vetted through the community through a series of public hearings.
Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Mandated- 2009 IRC Adopted No Action Reported Administrative Rule Withdrawn State Building Code Only of a nationally recognized code that will mandate residential Effective October 1 st, 2009 the Arkansas State Police signed a rule that fire sprinklers in new one (1) and two (1) family Arkansas dwellings would not be a state-mandated requirement now (nor in the next edition of the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Rules, likely to be the 2012 Edition). Adopted the 2009 International Residential Code Adopted without amending the requirement for residential sprinkler. Currently Oneand Two- Family Dwellings are not required to have sprinklers installed until the Effective date of January 1, 2011. Legislation has been introduced in the 2011 Calendar to allow jurisdictions to opt out of the State building code requirements. Colorado does not have a state building code for residential construction. In January 2012, a Senate Bill had been introduced to prohibit Jurisdictions from requiring Sprinklers in one- and twofamily dwellings. The bill was defeated in committee The State Code and Standards Committee Review Board has recommended the deletion of the sprinkler requirements from the 2009 International Residential Code. The Rulemaking Body voted not to include fire sprinklers for one- and two- family dwellings. Delaware does not adopt a statewide residential building code. Current sprinkler debate is occurring in New Castle County. Passed Legislation that will prohibit jurisdictions from requiring sprinklers in one- and two- family dwellings. A Study Committee has been formed to look further into residential sprinklers. Illinois State Fire Marshal attempted to pass the residential sprinkler mandate by amending an administrative rule, a procedure that requires a minority of votes in one committee and no subsequent action by the Illinois House or Senate. At the request of public officials, the administrative rule has been withdrawn. The Indiana Fire and Building Safety Commission completed its review of the 2009 International Residential Code and amended the sprinkler provisions from the adopted code. SJR 2009 passed in both the House (91-2) and Senate (49-0) in March 2010. This joint resolution nullifies portions of an administrative rule adopted by the Iowa Department of Public Safety requiring the installation of automatic residential fire K-2
Kansas sprinkler systems in townhouse and one & two family dwellings where the State Building Code applies. **Home Rule remains in effect for all city and county jurisdictions allowing them to adopt a residential fire sprinkler mandate. Kentucky No Action Reported The state has decided to skip the adoption of the 2009 IRC. Louisiana Maine Maryland Mandated- Uniform Building and Energy Code Board voted to exclude residential sprinklers for one- and two-family dwellings from the adoption of the 2009 IRC. Maryland Adopted the 2012 I-Codes, including the 2012 International Residential Code with the sprinkler requirement. Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire 2009 IRC Adopted Partial Mandate- Pending Legislation ** Legislation introduced during the 2012 session to prohibit municipalities and jurisdictions from opting out of sprinkler mandates in one- and two- family dwellings. The State Building Code Review Board approved an amendment to strike the mandatory sprinkler requirements for one- and twofamily dwellings and townhouses. The Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth made the decision to remove mandatory sprinklers from the code based. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry issued a regulatory ruling that would require all single family dwellings in excess of 4,500 square feet and all townhouses greater than 9,000 square feet to be equipped with sprinklers. Legislation has been approved and was signed by the Governor. State Legislation was passed that would not require residential sprinklers in new home, but would require the home builder provide the potential homebuyer the option. Legislation passed by both the House and the Senate and was vetoed by the Governor. Legislation has been approved and was signed by the Governor. Nevada does not adopt a statewide residential building code. Both the City of Las Vegas and Clarke County have decided not to require sprinklers in new one- and two- family dwellings until Housing market improves. State Legislation was passed that would not require residential sprinklers in new home, reversing the decision made by the New Hampshire State Building Code Review Board which voted to adopt the 2009 IRC without amending the sprinkler provision. K-3
New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee On August 4 th, 2010 the Department of Community Affairs had officially rescinded the requirement for mandating sprinklers in one- and two- family dwellings. The issue will be revisited with the publishing of the 2012 International Residential Code. The New York sprinkler taskforce has been reconvened at the request of the State Residential Code Review committee and provide additional information of residential sprinklers. Building Code Council has Completed the Rules process for the 2012 NC Codes. The Council rejected an effort to require residential sprinklers in single-family homes as called for in the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC). Townhouses must either be sprinklered or separated by a two hour fire wall. State of Ohio s BBS has adopted to the 2009 I-Codes and have amended the code by deleting the mandatory language and rewriting the sprinkler requirements for when they are installed. Oklahoma adopted, for the first time, a state wide residential code. The 2009 IRC was adopted by the OUBCC and was amended to include the sprinkler provisions as an adoptable appendix. The State Building Code Review Board adopted the 2011 Oregon Residential code, which is based on the 2009 IRC and amended the code by removing the residential fire sprinkler provisions. Governor Corbett Signed HB 377. This bill will reverse the sprinkler mandate that was approved by the Building Code Review Committee in 2010 and require all builders in the Commonwealth to provide potential buyers with information on residential fire sprinklers. THE RHODE ISLAND BUILDERS ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS PASSAGE OF SBC-2, which removes the mandatory requirement for sprinklers in 1 and 2 family homes and provide for their installation at the request of the buyer. Introduced Legislation in 2010 to prohibit any jurisdiction from Bill signed by the Governor would postpone any enforcement of the mandate until January of 2014. According to the legislation, residential sprinkler systems shall be required in townhouses. ** Legislation passed during the 2012 session to prohibit municipalities and jurisdictions from enforcing sprinkler mandates in one- and two- family dwellings, without putting an ordinance out for public review. K-4
Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming No Action Reported The Vermont Fire & Building Safety Code has been updated effective June 15, 2009. As currently required the State of Vermont, requirements for residential sprinklers in one- and two- family dwellings have been amended out of the adoption of the 2006 Life Safety Code. At the Board of Housing and Community Development meeting in July 2009, the board adopted proposed regulations which deleted the sprinkler provisions of the 2009 edition of the International Residential Code. The updates to the Virginia USBC will be final on March 1, 2011. On November 12, 2009 the Council completed adoption of the 2009 International Building, Residential, Mechanical and Fire Codes and the 2009 Uniform Plumbing Code. These codes, with state amendments, will be effective on July 1, 2010.The Council amended the 2009 IRC Section 313: Automatic Fire Sprinklers, moving this section to an appendix, pre-approved for local adoption The State of West Virginia has completed the adoption process of the 2009 International Codes, and has excluded the requirements for mandatory sprinklers by deleting Section R313 from the 2009 International Residential Code. Wisconsin revised their Uniform Dwelling Code to mirror the 2009 International Residential Code. In regards to the 2009 IRC requirement for sprinklers in one- and two- family, Wisconsin did not include the mandatory installation language. K-5