Fire Impact Fee Waived on Sprinklered Homes:
FIRE IMPACT FEES WAIVED WHEN RESIDENTIAL SPRINKLERS ARE INSTALLED

On June 10th 2002 the Camas City Council unanimously passed an ordinance waiving Fire Impact Fees when automatic fire sprinklers are installed in residences. The ordinance covers single-family dwellings, duplexes, and multi-family dwellings up to 15 units and less than three stories. This legislation represents a significant hurdle in driving sprinkler installation costs in Camas down to an affordable level. Fire Impact Fees, originally adopted in 1996, are currently 20 cents a square foot for residential construction. Unfinished areas and garages are included in the calculation. Here is an example of the Fire Impact Fee calculation for a typical home in Camas:

Average Camas Home 2,400 Sq. Ft.
Average Camas Garage 800 Sq. Ft.
Total Square Feet 3,200
Fire Impact Fee Calculation .20 Sq. Ft.
Fire Impact Fee Total $640.00

The average cost to install a sprinkler system in a home in Camas is approximately $1.00 a square foot. Here is an example of what an average residential sprinkler installation in Camas will cost utilizing the impact fee waiver:

Sprinkler System Cost $2,400.00
Impact Fee Deduction 640.00
Total Sprinkler Cost $1,760.00 (73 cents a square foot)

There are currently 77 sprinklered houses in Camas and another 194 in the development pipeline. This represents 3% of the total Camas housing and 3 times the national average of sprinklered houses. As sprinkler systems are installed in more houses in Camas we will see operational savings because two engines are dispatched to sprinklered houses, while three engines will still respond to houses without sprinklers.

Sprinklered Subdivisions:

Build your new Camas Home in one of these FIRE SAFE communities:

The Woods
Sundance Estates
Thomas Estates
Stone Ridge
Spyglass
Hidden Leaf
Renaissance Summit

News Article - Fire in a Sprinklered Home:

Monday, January 6, 2003
Newspaper Article from the Columbian:
By KELLY ADAMS, Columbian staff writer

CAMAS -- Fires at two houses less than a quarter-mile apart illustrate the difference a residential sprinkler system can make.

In early December, Angela Marshall was heating oil to fry some egg rolls. The next thing she knew, the kitchen was filled with thick, black smoke and "flames were coming out of the pan." She reached for the fire extinguisher but couldn't see the pin through the smoke. Marshall went outside and asked the neighbors to call for help. She had just started using the extinguisher when the sprinklers in the ceiling dumped water onto the blaze. When firefighters arrived, all they had to do was turn off the water main and turn on large fans. About a week later, a house under construction just up the hill from the Marshalls' was destroyed by a fire caused when the power was turned on before all the electrical fixtures were installed, said Camas Fire Marshal Allen Wolk.

Although the Marshalls' home sustained extensive water damage,
the sprinkler system "definitely prevented their house from burning
down," Wolk said. "There was a lot of water," said Angela Marshall, who lives with
her husband, Aaron. Water seeped through the carpet and rotted
part of the carpet pad. "It's really nasty looking," she said. From Wolk's perspective, the Marshalls got off easy. A typical residential sprinkler puts out about 15 gallons of water per minute while a fire hose sprays about 150 gallons of water per
minute. Although they limit property damage and save lives, home
sprinkler systems are still a rarity. Nationally, only 1 percent of
homes have them. In Camas the figure is about 5 percent, Wolk
said. About 100 homes have sprinklers and another 100 homes
under construction will have them. Sprinklers are only required in a few circumstances in Camas. For example, they're mandated for homes on dead-end roads that would increase response times for firetrucks. However, Wolk has
worked with several developers, negotiating decreased fire impact
fees in exchange for the installation of sprinklers. If they're installed while the home is being built, the cost is about $2 to $3 per foot for the pipe that feeds water to the sprinklers. Wolk said the cost has come down considerably in the past five years. "It's a small price to pay," he said. The city of Vancouver doesn't keep track of the number of homes with sprinkler systems, said Fire Marshal Dave Sauerbrey. He does,
however, support their installation. "I think residential sprinklers are a wonderful life-saving tool," he said. Wolk agreed. "Death in the home is preventable," he said, adding that no one has ever died in a fire in a home equipped with sprinklers.