The Baltimore County Council voted this week to require all new single family and two family homes built on or after January 1, 2011 to have automatic sprinkler systems.

According to an article in today’s  Baltimore Sun, the Council voted unanimously for this public safety measure.

“Sprinklers make our job safer and create safer conditions for our citizens,” said Doug Alexander, chairman of the residential sprinkler committee for the Maryland State Firefighters Association. “Sprinkler systems can also reduce the severity of the fire. There is also the insurance savings for the homeowner.”

Prince George’s County has not recorded one fatality in a home with a sprinkler, said State Fire Marshal William E. Barnard. Baltimore City put a mandatory sprinkler ordinance in place July 1 and Baltimore County is the 12th county in Maryland to require sprinkler systems in detached homes. The county has required sprinklers in townhomes and multifamily dwellings for nearly 20 years.