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Zephyrhills Shouldn't Quickly Extinguish Sprinkler Proposal

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

Zephyrhills City Council is overreacting a bit about a proposal requiring sprinkler systems in some businesses, fearing they would be hindering further economic development.

Under the proposal, any new business larger than 5,000 square feet would be required to install sprinklers. The plan also mandates the systems in existing businesses that expand to more than 5,000 square feet or change owners.

City officials need to realize that sprinkler systems save lives, property and inventory. The National Fire Sprinkler Association reports numerous cases in which the systems have kept fires in check or confined them to rooms and small areas until firefighters arrived, saving businesses, homes and lives.

Though the association is a special interest group, common sense says that any device that can help contain or slow a fire is good for business and the public.
Responsible business owners put customer safety first. They also have other incentives to retrofit their buildings with sprinkler systems or include them in new construction plans: Typically, insurance carriers offer discounts for such important safety features.

The city also has a responsibility to help protect consumers, residents and property. Whereas a sprinkler system can stop a fire dead in its track, a large building that catches fire can cause much destruction and put public safety workers at risk.

A tragic example is the devastating fire at a South Carolina furniture warehouse in June. Nine firefighters died inside the building in the worst firefighting disaster since Sept. 11. The building did not have a sprinkler system. Some engineers and contractors say the loss of life could have been avoided had one been present because the fire would have been confined, preventing the roof from collapsing.

Zephyrhills officials shouldn't give up on this proposal because some business owners don't like it. If officials are concerned that mandatory sprinkler systems would create a financial hardship on businesses, concessions could be considered. These could include reducing or waiving building or other fees associated with construction and expansion or helping businesses obtain grants and other funding - as long as business owners can prove sprinklers would create a hardship.

In addition, it's not unreasonable to require businesses that expand to more than 5,000 square feet to install the systems, but the original size of a building should be considered. If an existing building is 4,000 square feet and the owner adds another 1,000, for example, requiring the systems would be unfair.

It would be a different story for a 2,000-square-foot business to expand to 5,000. That's a substantial change in the size of a structure.

This is about making businesses safer for the betterment of the city and its residents. Council members shouldn't lose sight of that.

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