MORGANTOWN — A public hearing on a proposed change to state fire safety code drew 10 speakers to the House of Delegates chamber Monday morning. Nine opposed the change, saying it would endanger homes and lives. One favored it, saying it will do no harm while saving people money and sparing them needless inconvenience.
House Judiciary put on the hearing. Delegates will be voting on the proposed change this week in HB 4275, a legislative rule bill. It’s up for second reading and amendment on Tuesday, passage on Wednesday.
Agencies use legislative rules to carry out the directives of state code. The rule in question is found in 87 CSR 04 (Code of State Rules). It proposes to update the state’s adoption of the National Electric Code from the 2014 edition to the 2017 edition – with one exception.
In question is a requirement in both editions that new construction include Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters for most areas in new home construction. AFCIs are circuit breakers, used in place of conventional breakers, that shut off the power when they detect an arc in the wiring.
The rule includes an amendment put forth by the state Fire Commission and authored by the National Home Builders Association to limit AFCIs in new construction of one- and two-family homes to bedrooms.
An arc occurs when the electric current jumps between wires and can occur outside a wall at an outlet or in an extension cord, or invisibly inside a wall where the wire insulation has cracked or worn or been accidentally penetrated by a screw or nail. The arcing poses a fire hazard.
AFCI breakers are more expensive than regular breakers. A recent trip to a local hardware store showed that a regular 15-amp breaker cost just over $4 while a 15-amp AFCI cost a bit over $40.
Current code requires AFCIs in all areas of a newly built home except the garage, an unfinished basement, a bathroom or the home’s exterior unless there’s a device in a room connected to the exterior that would require it.
Tim Cunningham, a master electrician with 40 years’ experience, was the sole supporter of the amendment to limit placement of AFCIs. He serves on the International Code Council, which writes U.S. building codes, he said.
AFCIs are a nuisance, costly, and there’s no data that supports their use, he said. The data on their effectiveness comes from homes more than 20 years old. Since then, numerous new codes have made homes safer, not the installation of AFCIs.
AFCIs were meant for older rooms built with just two outlets and strung with lots of dangerous extension cords, he said. New codes require more outlets, requiring fewer hazardous extension cords. AFCIs trip needlessly, often caused by certain appliances, requiring unnecessary and expensive electrician visits.
Jack Jamison, secretary for the West Virginia Chapter of the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, was among the other nine. AFCI breakers and receptacles have proven themselves, he said.
He described how an errant staple through a wire into a wall stud, or a loose wire could easily cause an arc that wouldn’t trip a standard breaker, and lead to as fire. “The best cure for fires is prevention.”
Tim McClintock represents the National Electric Manufacturers Association. He cited statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration showing a reduction in fires from electrical malfunction from 2008-2017, with an accompanying decline in deaths and injuries.
Removing the AFCI requirement, he said, would be like proposing to removing traffic lights. “The house has the opportunity to stand up for the safety of all West Virginia residents.”
Jill Rice is with the West Virginia Insurance Federation, whose members write 80% of the property and casualty policies for West Virginia homes, she said. More than 50% of electrical fires could be prevented by AFCIs. “Why we would change that is something we really cannot understand.” It would be “a new and dangerous exemption to building code.”
Joe Ward is a lobbyist for the National Electric Manufacturers Association and wanted to tell a personal story about NFCIs. He put an addition onto his home – a kitchen and den. His kids were 1, 5 and 10 when he added it.
Every time his wife ran the vacuum cleaner, he said, the AFCI would trip. It turned out an overloaded power strip was causing an unsafe condition. The so-called nuisance trips saved his family. He and another speaker alleged that while some home builders say AFCIs don’t enhance safety, they really see it as preserving their bottom line.
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