Sprinklers To Be Discussed By County Commissioners In December

(Nov. 26, 2010) Unless the county commissioners vote to opt out of the state law mandating sprinklers in new single-family and two-family houses, the law will go into effect in the unincorporated areas of Worcester County, including Ocean Pines, on Jan. 1.

The commissioners have just one meeting before Dec. 15, the supposed final day to make a decision before the state law mandating sprinklers goes into effect Jan. 1. On Monday, however, Bud Church, president of the Worcester County Commissioners, said the issue would not be on the Dec. 7 agenda.

He has asked for it to be on the Dec. 21 agenda. He was told that it would not present a problem with the state if the commissioners vote to opt out of the requirement during that meeting.

The commissioners may modify the requirement mandating sprinklers, but only because of a special condition. That condition could not be the cost of sprinkler systems, which was part of the sprinkler issue discussion in September.

That discussion lasted nearly threeand a-half hours as proponents and opponents stated their cases.

At the time, Church and Commissioners James Purnell and Bobby Cowger opposed mandating sprinklers, while Commissioners Linda Busick and Louise Gulyas favored them, though Gulyas said she would only require them for houses with public water service. Commissioner Virgil Shockley was undecided.

With Busick replaced by Madison “Jim” Bunting and Cowger replaced by Merrill Lockfaw in the elections, the sentiments regarding sprinklers could change.

www.oceancitytoday.com

Malfunctioning Sprinkler System Closes Store

Many people have a difference of opinion when it comes to the state mandated sprinkler law that is scheduled to go into effect in January of 2011. Take a look at the article below. This happened in October of this year to a business. This business in Fairfield, CT. suffered quite a loss simply because of a malfunction. Just something to think about.

The Home Depot may be closed for at least part of this weekend after a sprinkler head malfunctioned in the Kings Highway Cutoff store Friday night and flooded it with water, firefighters said.

"You can swim in here," Fire Chief Richard Felner said, adding that the mega-store would have been better off having a fire.

Felner said the sprinkler head near the front of the store, by the plumbing aisle, was spraying water for around 40 minutes and that merchandise in four aisles was soaked. The water wasn't confined to those aisles, though. Felner said it had spread throughout the store. "It just keeps spreading out. There's nothing to hold it in," he said.

Felner said a cleaning crew was due to come in Friday night to begin mop up operations and he said the store almost certainly would be closed Saturday.

Employees outside the store Friday night turned customers away but said the store should be open Saturday because cleanup crews would be working all night. The store was open when the sprinkler head went off, and the parking lot was wet with water.

Firefighters aren't sure why the sprinkler head malfunctioned. Felner said the head, which is about 40 feet in the air, wasn't near a source of heat, and it may have just been old or rusted. "There's nothing up there that set it off. It could have been a faulty head," he said.

Felner said the head shot water over a 15-foot radius and that the water spread all over the store. He estimated it was about an inch deep across the store by the time firefighters could shut off the head. He estimated damage from the incident at $50,000.

http://www.patch.com/

Change Those Batteries !

With the onset of Eastern Standard Time now is the perfect time to replace the batteries on your smoke detector. Smoke detectors have saved millions of lives since they came onto the scene in the 1970s. The devices which typically cost around $10 and placed properly cut the chances of dying in a fire by over half.

Homes with working smoke detectors stand a far less chance of being heavily damaged in a fire than those who don't them. Fire officials state that properly placed smoke detectors offer the best protection against fire damage or injury.

Smoke detectors should be placed in the hall way outside sleeping rooms and at various locations in the living area of the home. Placing smoke detectors directly in kitchens isn't advised because cooking can trigger them.

If you would like to learn more about these life saving devices log onto:

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pyfff/smkalarm.html
www.shoredailynews.com