From Sunbury, Pennsylvania the Danbury Item ran a story this week about that state’s sprinkler mandate. The mandate went into effect January 1 and requires all new one- and two-family homes in Pennsylvania to have an automatic fire sprinkler system. Builders estimate the cost can range anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000. Manufactured homes are exempt from the mandate, unless they are placed on a foundation, then the basement is required to have a sprinkler system. According to the article, a group of housing-related associations collectively called the Safe at Home Coalition continue to argue that the mandate will price potential new-home builders out of some housing markets and that hard-wired smoke alarm systems mandated by the Pennsylvania construction code, gives a better than 99 percent chance of residents surviving a home fire, negating the need for sprinkler systems. Click here to read Eric Miller’s Industry In Focus report on MH Industry fire sprinkler preemption.