Up In Flames

Really, how much is a few thousand dollars when it could mean saving your home or even your life?

In 1990 Vancouver city council passed a bylaw mandating sprinklers in all newly constructed residences.     Here we are almost 20 years later and still no bylaw exists in Calgary.   Not even in the study stage.

In fact, it wasn’t until earlier this year that the province introduced new rules demanded by firefighters and safety officials such as fire-resistant material underneath vinyl siding on homes built close to each other.   And this wasn’t a pro-active measure – it was mostly in response to the 2007 Edmonton blaze that destroyed a city block.

Why is the building industry dragging their feet?

“We have more than sufficient protection under the terms of the Alberta Building Code,” said Don Dessario of the Canadian Home Builders Association’s local branch. “It’s kind of like layers upon layers upon layers. At some point in time, you start to exceed the requirements.”

I wonder if those poor Citadel home owners are thinking there was sufficient protection or whether current requirements were satisfactory.  A fire that started in one home spread to others resulting in five homes completely destroyed with two others damaged.   Would they have balked at paying extra for a new home if it meant a better chance of saving it?  I doubt it.   Thankfully no one was injured this time, however this year 6 people have died in house fires in Calgary.

Since Vancouver had the bylaw implemented, there had been zero fire deaths between 1990 and 2007 in homes with the safety systems.  And who knows how many millions of dollars worth of damage had been prevented.

Installing home fire sprinklers is not that expensive, the National Fire Protection Association in the USA insists. The cost of installing a system averages $1.61 per square foot, according to a fire protection research report.

This Monday City Council was supposed hear a motion to commission a feasibility study next year into a rule like Vancouver’s.    The meeting has now been pushed back to mid-December.  If approved, a study might be completed by December 2010.    And who knows how long it could drag on after that…

In the meantime, we’ll be hearing of more homes up in flames, more lives needlessly lost, all of which could have been prevented by implementing a single safety measure.

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Update: December 14, 2009 – Sprinklers in every Calgary home aldermen propose

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Sources for article:
Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5

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June 2011 Update

Here we are a year and a half later, and not much has changed…

Fire Dept. Lobbying for Changes

The week after a fire destroyed two homes, the fire department said it is lobbying for changes to the building code and stressing the need for better education of the dangers of putting lit cigarettes in peat moss planters.

Two homes in Bridlewood were destroyed in a blaze last Thursday after a fire that started in a deck planter spread to a neighbouring home. That fire came weeks after a large fire in Citadel, also caused by a cigarette butt in a planter, destroyed three homes.

So far this year, six house fires have been caused by cigarettes in peat moss.

“We’ve been talking about this for years and years,” said Calgary Fire Department deputy chief Brad Lorne.

“You put plants in your planters. Do not extinguish your cigarettes in peat moss,” he said standing in front of the homes on Bridleglen Road S.W.

“The cause of the fire is one that is very preventable.”

Lorne said the city, along with the Edmonton Fire Department and the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, is also lobbying for changes in provincial and national building codes. As it now stands, homes built within 1.2 metres of the property line need a non-combustible membrane -which can be exterior sheet rock or a spray-on material applied to the wood under the siding -on the home.

The Bridlewood homes did not have a membrane -they were built before the code took place -and spread in a matter of minutes. With the membrane, that could have been 20 minutes.

“Houses are typically built about 1.2 metres from property line. These ones are a little further apart. You can see that even though they’re farther apart than 1.2 metres allowed in the new code, we can still have devastation and lose multiple houses,” said Lorne.

“The city of Calgary, we’re pushing for a minimum of 1.5 metres separation from house to property line and to put in some siding that is noncombustible that will allow the fire department time to get to the fire and to put it out before it extends to the neighbours,” said Lorne.

The vinyl siding found on most new homes melts quickly under heat and exposes the particle board underneath.

Jim Rivait, executive officer Canadian Home Builders’ Association, said the fire department’s preferences could lead to additional costs.

“What people have to understand is that that’s easy enough to say. When you add a foot to the side yard, which means you have a wider lot, in Calgary it’s about $8,500 a foot to the consumer. If you’re looking at two feet, that’s $17,000,” said Rivait.

“It’s a cost that flows to the consumer.”

Rivait said the fire-resistant membrane is being applied to new homes under construction, as stipulated by the building code.

“I suppose you could build a home out of cement and everybody would be really safe.”

The fire department also takes issue with ventilated soffits in many new homes. A ventilated soffit, the underside of an overhanging eve, results in fires spreading more quickly to the attic.

There were no injuries in the Bridlewood blaze.

“The results of a fire are massive,” said Lorne. “When you look at the multiple families involved who will be out of their houses for months and months for something that could have been prevented.”

Read more at the Calgary Herald

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July 2011 Update

Newer building codes implemented in 2009 prevented a bad fire from getting worse. But are these changes enough?

New building codes praised in wake of massive southeast house fire

Tougher building and fire codes prevented a massive blaze, which claimed one home and significantly damaged another Saturday, from spreading to others, say fire officials.

“In this case, fire-resistant materials delayed the spread of the fire,” said Ernie Molineaux, battalion chief with the Calgary Fire Department, of the fire in the city’s deep southeast.

“We believe the fire started in the roofing material of a home under construction and spread roof to roof. Had the house (next door) not had the material on it, it would’ve been much, much quicker and we would’ve looked at possibly more houses being lost.

“A third house would have been threatened, certainly.”

Molineaux said crews were called to the new community of Auburn Bay at around 11:30 a.m. with reports that the roof of a house under construction was on fire.

When they arrived, the home was destroyed and the two-storey house next door was ablaze.

Molineaux said firefighters did a search and determined no one was in the home. The residents had taken possession as recently as Friday, he said, adding there were no reported injuries.

He said it was a good thing the home had a fire-resistant wallboard installed according to new fire codes, which slowed the flames from spreading and entering the inside of the home.

In May 2009, the province introduced changes to building and fire codes that ensured houses were built in a way that gave people time to get out of their homes and for firefighters to respond.

New homes built close together, 1.2 metres from the property line, with vinyl siding must now have fire-resistant materials, such as gypsum board, installed under the siding.

Det. Scott Sampson with the Calgary Police Service’s arson unit, who was called to the scene to assist fire investigators with the case, said without those materials, the fire would have likely spread to the home next door, occupied by 18-year-old David Drutu and his four younger siblings.

“My house would’ve been the third house burned,” Drutu said, still visibly shaken by the incident.

Drutu said his 10-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother were outside playing soccer when they saw smoke billowing from the home two doors down and quickly alerted him.

He got his two younger brothers, aged 3 and 14, out of the house, and immediately dialed 911.

“The fire was growing, flaming on the outside (of the house next door) and windows were breaking,” Drutu said. “But when the firemen came, it was too late for the first home. It had already burned down.”

Neighbours helped the teen move valuables from the home to a safe place, in case the fire spread. He said it was fortunate their house only sustained minor damage.

The home under construction was being built by Baywest Homes, confirmed Dave Burtt, the company’s vice-president of sales.

“We talked to the client whose home was affected and they are just thankful no one was hurt,” he said. “They have a very upbeat attitude.”

The framing and plumbing had been completed but the electrical wiring hadn’t been installed, Burtt said.

The fire also spread to some industrial containers and gardens down the street, and to the foundation of another nearby home under construction. The vinyl siding on three houses behind the destroyed home melted from radiant heat.

But firefighters were faced with several obstacles in battling the blaze, including strong winds, which made the flames spread very quickly, and curious onlookers blocking access to the site.

Fire trucks were forced to drive on undeveloped dirt lands to get to the fire, Molineaux said, adding if the land had been muddy, the trucks would have likely gotten stuck.

As well, water resources were a problem as the closest hydrant was not functioning, Molineaux said.

“It wasn’t operable. I can’t speak on whether it was hooked up yet or damaged. I don’t know the reason for it.”

ATCO Gas workers were also on scene to secure the gas service line and prevent seepage.

There is no damage estimate available and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/building+codes+praised+wake+massive+southeast+house+fire/5079050/story.html#ixzz1RiElMFrD