In Bedford, the fire chief and top building code official are in support of the state adopting new national building and fire safety codes mandating fire sprinklers in all newly constructed one- and two-family homes, but home builders in the state say that the choice should be left to those buying homes.

“Nobody questions the effectiveness of the sprinklers. It really comes down to cost, and for us, as code officials and fire officials, how do we put a value on a life? We can’t. That’s why we’re so, I’m going to say strong, in favoring these sprinklers to be installed as soon as possible,” Bedford Fire Chief Scott Wiggin said.

“(Are) there going to be hardships in rural communities? It’s going to be an issue of associated cost,” he added. This summer, as the Building Code Review Board goes over the current and proposed codes, holds hearings and prepares to make their recommendations, they will consider updating to one or both of the newest editions of two different national codes, both of which call for the sprinklers.

Or, they could update to the new codes but leave out the sprinkler portion, Wiggin said.

The state last adopted the 2006 International Building Code, which did not mandate the sprinklers. That year the state did not adopt the National Fire Protection Agency Life Safety Code, which made the sprinklers mandatory.

This year, the 2009 editions of both codes include the mandatory sprinkler provision. “It’s something that has slowly but surely worked it’s way into the code,” said Wayne Richardson, the Bedford code official and health officer and a member of the state review board.

The board hopes to make a recommendation by September, Richardson said. Then, the changes move on to the state Legislature.

“The concern is the added cost to a home builder or a homeowner,” Wiggin said.

According to a 2008 study by the National Fire Protection Association, the cost of the sprinklers to the home builder, in dollars-per-squaresprinkled- foot, ranged from 38 cents to $3.66, with an average of $1.61 per square foot.

The 2008 NFPA study included homes served by municipal and domestic water. Homes with domestic water, like many in Bedford, will require a holding tank and an electric pump with a higher capacity.

“It is a sizable expense and we’re very concerned about affordability issues,” Kendall Buck, executive vice president of the Homebuilders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire, said.

But Richardson said it is a matter of balancing some extra money with the sprinkler system’s ability to save lives.

“I personally don’t want to be in the situation, to have someone come to that board and (have to) say, ‘Well, we didn’t think the $2.10 was worth saving your child’s life.’” Richardson said. “No thanks.”

Other concerns include a question of whether there are enough people in the state who know how to install the sprinkler systems, Richardson said.

“At this point, there is a great deal of concern in many jurisdictions across the country, but at the same time there are many jurisdictions across the country that already require residential sprinklers,” including New Boston, locally, and Scottsdale, Ariz., on a larger scale, he said.

Wiggin said the sprinklers significantly increase the amount of time a person has to escape a burning room before the fire spreads, and make it safer for firefighters and adjacent property owners.

And when nobody is home, the sprinklers can still put out a fire in its incipient phase, before it spreads to other rooms and other properties.

“They do have the ability to function without human intervention. Meaning nobody has to turn them on, nobody has to do anything,” he said. The home builders association’s official position argues that smoke detectors are the best prevention of fatal fires, and adds that most people decline to install the sprinkler system, he said.

“And our position is that it’s fine to make sure consumers are educated about sprinklers, what the costs are, what the benefits are. Let them make that choice,” he said.

But Richardson said almost every code change is an attempt to fix a gap in the code.

“I have yet to see a code change come through that wasn’t a result of a reaction, or a determination that there was a shortcoming in the code: a flaw, death or injury, or building collapse somewhere that said, ‘We didn’t think about that, we never anticipated this,’” he said. “You cannot imagine every conceivable situation.”