Fire Sprinklers Allow Building in Remote Areas

More than 70 upscale homes on Boblo Island, which lies in the Detroit River between Ontario and Michigan, would still be nothing more than blueprints unless home fire sprinkler systems were part of the design, according to Dennis Cressman of Home-Safe Fire Protection of Windsor, Ontario.

As many as 400 homes in the $1 million to $2 million price range could eventually be built on the island, Cressman said. "None of these houses could have been built without home fire sprinklers because the island is not easily accessible for firefighters," he said.

A 24-home Windsor, Ontario subdivision also owes its existence to fire sprinklers. Without the installation of sprinkler systems, building permits would have been denied because the area was not readily accessible to the local fire department, he said.

"These are the things that are going to make fire sprinkler installation work for these builders, if they can increase their profits, their bottom line," says Cressman. "We put sprinklers in six houses in Ajax, Ontario," he recalled. Putting in those sprinkler systems meant six extra houses built and sold. "You can imagine the profit," he said.

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