I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1742 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify automatic fire 

sprinkler systems as 5-year property for purposes of depreciation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2007 

Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself, Mr. CANTOR, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. RAMSTAD, 

Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. KING of New 

York, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Ms. 

ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 

Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SHAYS, 

Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify 

automatic fire sprinkler systems as 5-year property for 

purposes of depreciation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Sprinkler Incen5 tive Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the publication of the original study and 

2 comprehensive list of recommendations in America 

3 Burning, written in 1974, requested advances in fire 

4 prevention through the installation of automatic 

5 sprinkler systems in existing buildings have yet to be 

6 fully implemented; 

7 (2) fire departments responded to approxi8 mately 1,600,000 fires in 2005; 

9 (3) there were 3,675 civilian deaths and 17,925 

10 civilian injuries resulting from fire in the United 

11 States in 2005; 

12 (4) 87 firefighters were killed in 2005; 

13 (5) fire caused $10,672,000,000 in direct prop14 erty damage in 2005, and sprinklers are responsible 

15 for a 70 percent reduction in property damage from 

16 fires in public assembly, educational, residential, 

17 commercial, industrial and manufacturing buildings; 

18 (6) fire departments respond to a fire every 20 

19 seconds, a fire breaks out in a structure every 61 

20 seconds and in a residential structure every 79 sec21 onds in the United States; 

22 (7) the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, 

23 Rhode Island, did not contain an automated sprin24 kler system and burned down, killing 100 people on 

25 February 20, 2003; 


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1 (8) due to an automated sprinkler system, not 

2 a single person was injured from a fire beginning in 

3 the Fine Line Music Cafe ́ in Minneapolis after the 

4 use of pyrotechnics on February 17, 2003; 

5 (9) the National Fire Protection Association 

6 has no record of a fire killing more than 2 people 

7 in a completely sprinklered public assembly, edu8 cational, institutional or residential building where 

9 the system was properly installed and fully oper10 ational; 

11 (10) sprinkler systems dramatically improve the 

12 chances of survival of those who cannot save them13 selves, specifically older adults, young children and 

14 people with disabilities; 

15 (11) the financial cost of upgrading fire 

16 counter-measures in buildings built prior to fire 

17 safety codes is prohibitive for most property owners; 

18 (12) many State and local governments lack 

19 any requirements for existing structures to contain 

20 automatic sprinkler systems; 

21 (13) under the present straight-line method of 

22 depreciation, there is a disincentive for building safe23 ty improvements due to an extremely low rate of re24 turn on investment; and 


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1 (14) the Nation is in need of incentives for the 

2 voluntary installation and retrofitting of buildings 

3 with automated sprinkler systems to save the lives of 

4 countless individuals and responding firefighters as 

5 well as drastically reduce the costs from property 

6 damage. 

7 SEC. 3. CLASSIFICATION OF AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLER 

8 SYSTEMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

10 168(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 

11 to 5-year property) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

12 end of clause (v), by striking the period at the end of 

13 clause (vi) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(vii) any automated fire sprinkler 

16 system placed in service after April 11, 

17 2003, in a building or structure which was 

18 placed in service before such date.’’. 

19 (b) ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM.—The table contained in 

20 section 168(g)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

22 subparagraph (B)(iii) the following: 

‘‘(B)(vii) .................................................................................................... 7’’. 

23 (c) DEFINITION OF AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLER

24 SYSTEM.—Subsection (i) of section 168 of the Internal 


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1 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(17) AUTOMATED FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM.— 

4 The term ‘automated fire sprinkler system’ means 

5 those sprinkler systems classified under one or more 

6 of the following publications of the National Fire 

7 Protection Association— 

8 ‘‘(A) NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler 

9 Systems, 

10 ‘‘(B) NFPA 13 D, Installation of Sprin11 kler Systems in One and Two Family Dwellings 

12 and Manufactured Homes, and 

13 ‘‘(C) NFPA 13 R, Installation of Sprinkler 

14 Systems in Residential Occupancies Up to and 

15 Including Four Stories in Height.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

18 April 11, 2003. 

19 (e) WAIVER OF LIMITATIONS.—If refund or credit of 

20 any overpayment of tax resulting from the amendments 

21 made by this section is prevented at any time before the 

22 close of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the 

23 enactment of this Act by the operation of any law or rule 

24 of law (including res judicata), such refund or credit may 


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1 nevertheless be made or allowed if claim therefor is filed 

2 before the close of such period. 

Æ 


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