As Jefferson City continues updating its building codes, a change in philosophy on the installation of sprinkler systems in residences is also being considered.
Fire officials held an informational meeting Tuesday with representatives involved in home building and rental properties at their Hyde Park Training Facility.
Fire Chief Matt Schofield told the group the department has been looking at this for more than a year.
"We know there is some resistance to doing this, and I get it. But this is a safety issue we feel needs to be looked at," he told the group.
According to Missouri statues, a builder of one- or two-family dwellings or townhouses must offer buyers the option of installing or equipping fire sprinklers in the dwelling or townhouse.
"What we found was there weren't many places in Mid-Missouri that do residential sprinkler systems," Schofield said. "It's very common in commercial buildings such as hotels and churches where a high occupancy rate is expected."
In an effort to show how
a residential system can be a benefit, the Fire Department worked with River City Habitat for Humanity to incorporate such a system in the group's 100th home being built on East High Street.
Missouri American Water and the Missouri Sprinkler Coalition installed the sprinklers in the home and hope to do this in future homes.
"We did a field test on the system Monday and found they worked as needed," Schofield said. "This is the only test we'll need to do.
"The purpose for all of this is to give the residents enough time to exit a home if there is a fire," he added.