Montgomery County, Md., became the largest jurisdiction in the nation to mandate sprinkler systems in new homes on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison attended the signing ceremony as County Executive Douglas M. Duncan signed into law Bill 25-03, legislation requring all new single-family houses built in the county to include an approved fire sprinkler system. The law also requires property tax notices to provide information about the local tax credit available for installing non-mandated sprinkler systems in all other residential buildings without such systems. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2004.

Sprinkler systems have proven statistically to dramatically reduce fire deaths and injuries, and to also significantly reduce total property loss.

“Just this week in Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania, seven people lost their lives in a residential fire. The firefighters will write reports indicating the victims’ names, the cause and that this was a residential fire,” Paulison said. “What the report probably won’t say is that residential sprinklers and working smoke alarms can prevent these reports of tragic loses from ever occurring. Let the Montgomery County residential sprinkler ordinance help move all Americans to a time when no residents of this nation lose their lives to fires.”

“This legislation represents an important step forward in protecting our community from the dangers of fire,” said Duncan. “Sprinklers save lives, and they are relatively inexpensive when installed in the construction phase of a home. These are essential to the health and welfare of our residents.”

The sprinkler bill was proposed by Council member Phil Andrews and co-sponsored by Council President Michael Subin and Council members Michael Knapp and Tom Perez. The County Council unanimously passed the legislation during Fire Prevention Week.

Current state and county laws require fire sprinkler systems in new multi-family dwellings, townhouses, and commercial structures. A substantial property tax credit is available as an incentive for installing sprinklers in older multi-family and town homes and in all other residential buildings that currently are not required to have sprinklers. “The most significant thing a family can do to protect themselves from fire is to have the combination of working smoke alarms and a sprinkler system,” said County Fire Administrator Gordon Aoyagi. “Protect what you value most.”

County residents who install sprinkler systems in their homes or retrofit them are eligible for up to a 50 percent one-time property tax credit. For more information, contact Pete Piringer, public information officer with the Montgomery County Fire Administrator’s office, at 240-777-2474 or via e-mail at peter.piringer@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Click here for information from the Montgomery County Treasury division about tax savings for residents under the new legislation.