BAM NEWS
Summer… Remember That Season?
Well it’s back and I know this because vacation season and mosquitoes have arrived! I hope that all of our members and their families were able to enjoy some well deserved R&R and sunshine over the 4th of July weekend. Speaking of well deserved vacations our fearless leader, Pam Perri Weaver, is on one. So here is the mid-July vacation issue of This Week at BAM.
Fire Sprinklers Required in All Single-Family Homes!
No, they aren’t yet…but I’m glad I got your attention. If fire sprinkler advocates get their way all new single and two-family dwellings built to the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) will require fire sprinklers. The good news is we have a chance to stop this requirement and you may be able to help. The decision will be made sometime during the week of September 17th-23rd at the Minneapolis Convention Center when the International Code Council holds their “Final Action Hearings” for the 2009 code cycle. BAM supports keeping fire sprinkler installation as an optional upgrade for homeowners, not a mandatory requirement. If you agree keep reading!
(1) Talk to your local building code official and see if they support mandatory fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes. Urge them to attend the ICC Final Action Hearings in Minneapolis in September and vote no on fire sprinkler mandates for single-family housing. BAM will publish and distribute a voting guide in August to help local building code officials understand this issue better.
(2) If you hold a public office through one of the following government entities you may be able to help cast a ‘no vote’ on this important issue:
• Building Departments
• Zoning Departments
• Planning Departments
• City and County Agencies
• School Districts
• Special Districts
• Fire Departments
• Fire Protection Districts
• Health and Safety Departments
• State Agencies
Please contact me at karenl@bamn.org or 800-654- 7783x166 as soon as possible if you think you might be eligible. I will help you figure out if you can vote as an ICC Governmental Member.