JLC ??MAY 1991
EIGHT-
PENNY NEWS
VOLUME 9 • NUMBER 8 MAY 1991
Two Massachusetts towns
have become representative
battlegrounds in the escalating
war between fire departments
and builders over fire sprinklers
in single-family homes.
In Egremont, the town meeting
passed a sprinkler bylaw,
only to have it overturned by
the state review board when
local home builders appealed.
Meanwhile, nearby West Stockbridge
still has its sprinkler ordinance
in place, despite home
builders' objections.
Both bylaws were passed
when the volunteer fire departments
said they could not guarantee
fire protection for the
growing number of new homes.
The towns are in the Berkshire
Hills of western Massachusetts,
which is a desirable rural area
that has experienced substantial
population growth in recent
years.
Local fire officials had nightmare
visions of distant