Brampton Fire and Emergency Services is urging Queen's Park to pass Bill 2, legislation which would make sprinklers mandatory in all new homes, following the recent death of a Toronto woman.

"In addition to personal injury and death, which are very serious concerns, fires can cause property damage to both homes and businesses," said Brian Maltby, Division Chief, Fire Prevention with Brampton Fire and Emergency Services. "Sprinklers can help extinguish fires more quickly, reducing the amount of destruction."

Sadly, on Jan. 29, 2007, 75-year-old Maria Rogivska, who lived alone, died in her Barrington Avenue home in Toronto as a result of a fire. This fire death has since caused a flurry of editorials, articles and other media interest, many calling for mandatory residential fire sprinklers.

And only weeks ago, two Winnipeg Fire Captains with a combination of more than 60 years service died while fighting a fire in a two-storey home. Fire safety professionals are confident that the outcome of these two tragic fires would have been much different had these homes been equipped with residential fire sprinklers.

"It is clear that our future must include residential sprinklers," said MPP Linda Jeffrey who three years ago introduced private member's legislation, which would make the installation of fire sprinklers mandatory in new detached, semi-detached and row houses.

"The same consumers who demand airbags in their cars and who spend thousands of dollars to protect their homes with electronic alarm systems need to demand homes with sprinklers," said Jeffrey, a former Brampton City Councillor. "Its time to protect what we value most including those most at risk, seniors, the young and the disabled."

Between 1999 and 2003, fire took the lives of 533 Ontario residents and was responsible for almost $1.6 billion in property damage. In 2003 alone, fire claimed the lives of 110 people and destroyed an estimated $457 million in property.

In Vancouver, residential sprinklers became mandatory in all new homes since 1990 and are now in about 40 per cent of homes. On new homes, fire sprinkler systems only add one to 1.5 per cent to the total building cost.

On Jan. 25, 2007, a single sprinkler head extinguished a fire in a machine shop in Brampton prior to the arrival of Brampton firefighters. Damage to the machine shop was between $5,000 to $10,000 and there was no personal injury. Fire officials estimate damage could have been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and a greater number of firefighters and equipment may have been required to attend at the scene had the sprinkler not been operating.