Emmittsburg, MD Announcement Home > Sprinkler > Emmittsburg Announcement Dear Friends: I am pleased and honored to announce that yesterday evening, April 4, 2005, the Emmitsburg Town Commission and Mayor, voted unanimously in support a measure that I authored and sponsored, Ordinance 05-05, "Residential Fire Sprinklers." The purpose of this new ordinance is to amend Title 15 of the Code of Emmitsburg entitled "Buildings and Construction" by adding a chapter to adopt and modify the Maryland Building Performance Standards and to require the installation of fire sprinklers systems in new residential housing which has yet to be built. As you may know, a residential fire occurs every 79 seconds and 85% of residential fire deaths and 71% of residential fire injuries occur in one and two family dwellings; 83% of residential fire property damage occurs in one and two family dwellings. What most people do not know, however, is that 95% of residential firefighter deaths occur in one and two family dwellings. While the County of Frederick is making progress toward possibly developing a county-wide ordinance, it was likely that most of the planned and approved housing stock in Emmitsburg would be constructed before such a county-wide requirement was implemented. Because the inclusion of automatic residential sprinkler systems in such dwellings increases the likelihood of survival to more than 97% and 95% of all residential fires are controlled by the activation of just one sprinkler head, I thought it important to act now, in order to protect fire fighters, homeowners, their families and property. I am honored to have worked with Marshal William E. Barnard, CFPS, Maryland State Fire Marshal, his professional staff, and the countless fire fighters and their leadership for their tireless support, words of encouragement, expertise, guidance and knowledge. Without their assistance, this historic ordinance would not have been possible. In closing, I would especially like to thank Emmitsburg Town Commissioners, Art Elder and Dianne Walbrecker for their early support and encouragement of my effort to see the Fire Sprinkler Ordinance come to fruition. In addition, I extend my appreciation to Commissioner Rosensteel and Mayor Hoover for making passage of this important ordinance, unanimous. Finally, I extend my sincere appreciation to the many Emmitsburg Citizens who contacted me or met with me with words of encouragement and strong support for a Fire Sprinkler Ordinance our town. Ordinance 05-05 will save lives and greatly increase the level of fire protection in the Town of Emmitsburg. Should you have questions on this, or any other matter, please always feel free to contact me via email at this address, or using the following contact information. With kind regards, I remain, Sincerely, Bill O'Neil Commissioner Town of Emmitsburg 300A South Seton Avenue P. O. Box 990 Emmitsburg, MD 21727 Town Telephone: 240.629.6300 Town Facsimile: 240.629.6313 Copyright 2003 Fairfield Fire and EMS Fairfield, PA | 717-642-8842 Contact Information | Site Map