|
Ashland City, TN-
Cheatham County,
Tennessee became the first county out of
95 to adopt a Zero Square Foot Fire
Sprinkler Resolution on Monday, August
21, 2006. The County Commission voted
unanimously (12-0) to adopt the
legislation which will require homes
built in subdivisions over 3 lots to
have residential fire sprinklers and ALL
commercial buildings will be sprinklered.
This legislation is designed to protect
those who live in Cheatham County from
bearing the burden of growth and those
who move here from the same as well as
save their life from fire.
State Fire
Marshal, Emmett Turner was on hand for
the passage of the legislation and
applauded county leaders for having the
vision and leadership to enact such a
law.
“I am so proud of
Cheatham County, Tennessee and its
elected officials,” explained Chief
Turner. “This is a positive step, and
more counties need to join Cheatham
County in order to reduce the loss of
life to fire in our volunteer state. We
can change the tragic statistics and the
fire death rate across the state.”
The towns of
Pleasant View, Ashland City, and
Kingston Springs already have local
sprinkler ordinances, with the Town of
Pegram slated to consider the
legislation next month.
The legislation
came out of the Cheatham County Planning
Commission and has the support of area
fire departments and their personnel,
along with County Technical Advisory
Service (CTAS) officials across the
state. Kevin Lauer worked with county
officials on the county-wide
legislation.
“Fire protection
is expected from citizens and greatly
impacts the quality of life in an area,”
says Lauer. “Being proactive and making
decisions that create the non-typical
fire department and plan are huge steps
in planning for growth and trying to
off-set tax demands placed on
communities as a result of growth.”
“Any time we can
prevent fire from happening, or
intervene in the early stages is a good
thing,” says Chief Chuck Walker of the
Ashland City Fire Department.
“Sprinklers save lives and protect
property—it’s like having a firefighter
built into every room of your house.”
“This has taken
years for use to research and plan for
such legislation,” added County Mayor
Bill Orange. “I am glad that we have
taken such steps in protecting those who
build new homes in Cheatham County. This
also has a huge impact on our future tax
demands. With sprinklers, fire
protection is built in and we can focus
on emergency services.”
The legislation
does not affect current residents or
those that may build on to their
existing house. It also only affects
subdivisions with more than 3 lots.
For more
information about fire sprinklers,
contact Chief Derek Noe at the Ashland
City Fire Department at 615-792-4211 or
Chief PJ Duncan at the Pleasant View
Volunteer Fire Department at
615-746-8528. |
