Merritt adjusting fire sprinkler regulations

The City of Merritt is set to adjust the fire sprinkler regulations in the city.

“When the Building Act was brought into force 30 municipalities in BC had additional requirements regarding sprinklers which were above the requirements of the BC Building Code; the City of Merritt is one of those municipalities,” wrote Deputy Corporate Officer Linda Brick.

“The proposed amendment to the City of Merritt Building Bylaw would bring greater consistency to technical building requirements regarding sprinklers and bring the Building Bylaw regulations regarding sprinklers into compliance with the requirements of the BC Building Code and other provincial regulations,” added Brick.

The changes will mostly affect residential buildings, but CAO Sean Smith added that some industrial properties could be affected as well.

“We will follow the (BC Building Code) and that’s the standard we are proposing to move to because there have been improvements to the code to get things to a good safe standard that municipalities can and should be satisfied with,” said Smith.

Council unanimously approved the first three readings of the building bylaw amendment.