All new single family dwellings being built in Pennsylvania, including new homes being constructed in Tredyffrin and Easttown Township, effective January 1, 2011, are to have an automatic fire sprinkler system installed, according to the updated Pennsylvania statutes. All homes built prior to January 1, 2011 are not affected by this new law.

The additional cost of installing a fire sprinkler system is about $1.40 per square foot in a home that has a public water supply and rises to $1.60 to $2.00 per square foot if a home gets its water supply from a well. Translated, for a newly constructed 2,000 square foot home, the additional cost for construction would be $4,000. To put this cost in prospective locally in Tredyffrin Township the median value of housing is $269,800. The implementation of this new law adds an average of only 1-1.5% of the total building cost in new construction.

Quick facts from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

> 90% of fires can be contained by the operation of just (1) sprinkler.
> Each year more than 4,000 people die in fire, 80% from residential fires.
> Home sprinklers use only a fraction of water as opposed to fire department hose lines.
> Fire sprinklers save lives, reduce property loss, and cut insurance premiums.
> Risk of fire death is reduced by 82% with the combination of fire sprinklers and smoke alarms.

To watch a short video on how fire sprinklers work click on the following link from the Home Fire Safety Coalition at http://www.homefiresprinkler.org/Consumer/ConsWork.html . If you are interested in learning more about this topic visit the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) at http://www.nfpa.org and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov.