Hot sales over safety

The true victims of last weekend’s arson in Leduc are six families who lost homes in the fast-moving inferno.

But the housing industry apparently feels victimized as well. On Monday, George Clancy, Leduc’s deputy fire chief, made the perfectly reasonable observation that it was tough fighting the blaze with homes so close together.

That didn’t sit well with the Alberta branch of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. “I do believe it’s a bit of a bad rap,” says association spokesman Jim Rivait.

The industry builds what consumers want, he says.

If people want less urban sprawl and more affordability, that means smaller lots, he explains. “That flies in the face of having houses spread out.”

In Edmonton and Calgary, if developers add a foot to the side yard, it ups the cost of a house by about $8,500, Rivait adds. “It all falls in the lap of the consumer. If you want to have (more fire-safety measures), it’s added to your bill.”

The province amended its building and fire codes in 2009, after a massive blaze destroyed an Edmonton condo complex two years before. The changes included requirements that homes built within 1.2 metres of the property line have fire-resistant material under the siding, the interiors of attached garages be more fire-resistant and that soffits be solid, not perforated.

Fire proof material under the siding limits fire damage up the wall and solid soffits prevent flames from getting directly into the attic.

The six Leduc homes that burned were built in 2005-06, before the beefed-up fire regs were brought in. But it’s too early to tell if more stringent rules would have limited the damage, says Leduc fire chief Ernie Polsom.

“We don’t know just yet. We’re still in the investigative process,” he says.

Still, it makes you wonder why Alberta’s home builders didn’t voluntarily construct homes with better fire protection in the last 10 or 15 years.

I mean, shouldn’t installing vinyl siding with fireproof material be a no-brainer?

Builders didn’t want to spend more money on homes that exceeded existing codes for fear of not being able to sell them, says Rivait.

In other words, they were afraid people would rush to buy cheaper, standard housing, instead of expensive homes erected with add-on fire-safety features.

“Sometimes you need a change that impacts everybody to keep the playing field level because people buy based on price,” says Rivait.

As it happens, RBC Economics Research released a report Monday noting that Edmonton is one of the most affordable housing markets in the country. Buyers here spend only 33.8% of their household income on owning a home, significantly less than the 43% of income the average Canadian family spends.

Whether Albertans are willing to pay substantially more for increased protection — or want the province to toughen up rules even further is unclear. But, as it stands, both Polsom, the Leduc fire chief, and Kevin Block, Edmonton’s fire chief, are satisfied with the code changes.

High-intensity residential fires, such as the one in Leduc, account for only 1% of Alberta fires — but 10% of the province’s fire damage.

The best defence? Don’t store combustibles near a wooden fence, discard butts in planters or leave a barbecue near siding or unattended, he says. “People shouldn’t be afraid of the homes they live in.”