residential fire sprinkler system for Mobile Homes

In The News

Fire Sprinklers System Mandates

Written by
Jennifer Shutt

OCEAN CITY, MD -- Beginning March 1, all new mobile homes built by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Ocean City will be required to have a residential fire sprinkler system.

The Ocean City Council approved a measure extending the residential fire sprinkler requirements to HUD mobile homes after learning HUD did not have any such requirement in place.  "Typically anything HUD would regulate would pre-empt what locally we could do," City Engineer Terence McGean said. "However, HUD has told us because they have no regulations for sprinklers in HUD homes that there is nothing to pre-empt and therefore the local requirement to sprinkle single-family homes does apply."

The council previously voted to implement a state law requiring new one- and two-family dwellings constructed after Jan. 1 to contain a residential sprinkler system. The town already requires sprinklers in multi-family dwellings, condos and apartments.  McGean noted the most recent house fire in Ocean City took place in a mobile home. "I would point out the last fire death we had was in a mobile home, so staff would recommend we do extend the requirements to HUD homes," he said. In March 2007, Deborah Robusto, 44, and William Edward Alascio, 49, died as the result of a fire at their mobile home in North Ocean City. McGean said his office has instituted a 60-day grace period for the construction of mobile homes, which means anyone who acquired a permit before March 1 will not have to install the sprinkler system.  "Technically on January 1 we should have been requiring (residential sprinkler systems) for HUD homes, so the grace period will actually end on March 1," McGean said. "If someone has a permit in the system or if they have applied for a permit already we will not require it."

Mobile homes not manufactured by HUD are considered single-family homes and were required to be built with residential fire sprinklers beginning Jan. 1.  In 2009, one mobile home was built in Ocean City, and three were built in 2010. Brent Ashley was the only council member to vote against the measure, saying he is against the government mandate. Ashley also voted against fully implementing residential sprinklers in one- and two-family dwellings for the same reason.