Arlington Hts. gets smart on sprinklers

Last week the Arlington Heights trustees unanimously voted to reject a building code provision mandating sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes.

This idea was backed by powerful special interest groups, and the trustees’ vote was a statement that cost-benefit analysis and common sense can overcome undue influence.

During the debate, we learned that more than 60 Illinois communities already require homeowners to waste millions of dollars on fire sprinklers.

According to the National Safety Council, the odds of dying from an accidental fall or poison are about 1 in 7,000. In comparison, the odds of dying in a fire are about 1 in 100,000.

If you live in home with a simple smoke alarm and don’t smoke in bed, the odds are in excess of 1 in 200,000. Since we do not fear falls or poison, why would we unduly fear fires?

Habitat for Humanity has said that this fire sprinkler mandate endangers our families by making housing less affordable. They are right. We could spend less and save many more lives by taking simple, inexpensive precautions against more likely dangers.

Our out-of-control state and federal budgets prove that we should leave very few decisions in the hands of narrow-minded special interest groups.

Their ability to get this unjustified idea widely adopted explains why we are drowning in debt. It also helps explain why we struggle to pay for health care, education and retirement.

The statistics are almost universal; very few communities could demonstrate that fire sprinklers are either cost-effective or justified. If your community requires fire sprinklers, ask your leaders how they concluded that this was in your best interest.

If the answer is not clear and convincing, you know that your community leadership is a part of the problem.

Bob Ruffatto

Arlington Heights