The CumberlandTimesNews in Cumberland, Maryland says Allegany County Commissioners will consider a proposed change in the county’s sprinkler law that will delay the stricter regulations until the state adoption of the International Residential Code (IRC) takes effect in 2015. Currently, all multi-family dwellings are required to have sprinklers, but the new law requires all town homes and one-and two-family homes, including manufactured and modular homes, to have sprinkler systems. County commissioners say the systems cost $3,000 plus, and will drive new home buyers and builders to surrounding states that do not require sprinklers. “I am for safety, but I think this whole thing stinks … this is a personal preference we lost,” Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr. has said. AsMHProNews reported, last year the Pennsylvania Legislature repealed a sprinkler mandate.
