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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Lauren Rooney |
State Rep. Tim Solobay |
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Solobay working to save lives
Unveils legislation that would offer a tax credit for installing fire sprinklers
HARRISBURG, April 23 – At a news conference in Harrisburg today, state Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Washington, unveiled his legislation (H.B. 1144) that would offer tax credits up to $1,000 to eligible homeowners who install fire sprinkler systems.
Solobay, who has been a member of the Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department since 1978 and is currently first assistant chief, said he developed the legislation as a safety measure to provide people with an incentive for installing fire sprinklers in their homes.
“Automatic fire sprinklers save lives, limit injuries and protect property,” Solobay said. “If you install a sprinkler system while a home is under construction, it costs only about $2 per square foot; less than the cost of most carpeting. My legislation would make it even more affordable to include this important fire-safety feature in Pennsylvania homes."
It’s estimated that every 79 seconds, a home burns somewhere in the United States, and nearly 3,000 Americans die in home fires every year.
“Residential sprinklers save lives and prevent horrific injuries,” said Cynthia Rauso, president and CEO of the Burn Foundation in Philadelphia. “A tax credit for sprinklers would help protect Pennsylvania homeowners, their families and firefighters from the ravages of residential fires. I commend Representative Solobay for introducing this life-saving measure, and the Burn Foundation and its board of directors urges the legislature to pass it.”
The news conference featured a demonstration by the Centre Regional Code Authority that showed how quickly fire sprinklers could douse flames that might otherwise engulf an entire home. An automatic sprinkler system can reduce the cost of fire damage by as much as 74 percent.
Authorities have said that a 1994 fire that heavily damaged the former Department of Transportation Building in Harrisburg could have been contained by a sprinkler system costing approximately $1 million during initial construction or $2 million to retrofit. Instead, the building had to be demolished and replaced at a cost of more than $500 million.
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