Electronic circuit breakers meant to prevent fires will be required throughout new homes.

The Building Code Council, the state agency which sets minimum building standards, halted Tuesday a proposal to drop the requirement for the devices, known as arc fault circuit interrupters.

The switches sense minor fluctuations in current that could be a symptom of a dangerous and unseen exposed wire. The switches are more expensive than standard circuit breakers and homebuilders have opposed them, saying the added expense isn't worth what they saw as a marginal benefit.

The devices were previously required for bedrooms. They were then required in all living areas and the council was considering a move to roll back that change. On Friday, Gov. Beverly Perdue wrote a letter to the council chairman, expressing her support for the devices.

Perdue appoints all members of the council and her letter may have been the reason the council unanimously voted Tuesday to keep the devices in the code.

"You pick your battles," said Mack Nixon, an Albemarle homebuilder and member of the council who opposes expanded use of the devices.

Kim Reitterer, a Charlotte electrical engineer and council member, said the governor's letter likely reversed the council's intention to roll back use of the breakers.

"I think the governor's letter let people know how important fire safety is to North Carolina citizens," Reitterer said.  

Fire officials and electrical experts called a news conference Thursday to drum up support for a building code change designed to prevent fires.

Raleigh Fire Chief John McGrath said at the news conference at Fire Station  1 in Durham that there are as many as 70,000 electrical fires a year in the U.S. that could be prevented with a special type of circuit breaker, Ben Niolet reports.

"This small device is a very very inexpensive way to prevent a lot of them," McGrath said.

The device, an arc fault circuit interrupter, is now required in bedrooms in new homes. In January it will be required for most rooms in new homes.

The N.C. Building Code Council, which sets building standards, is moving to undo the new requirements. Home builders say the device is too expensive and is an unnecessary protection.

Kim Reitterer, a Charlotte electrical engineer and member of the code council, said the devices would add at most $30 to $60 to the cost of a $150,000 square-foot home.

"This is pennies, or less than pennies, for an important safety device, Reitterer said.

The council meets Monday and Tuesday in Raleigh. Among it's agenda items is a vote that could begin unravelling the new building code.

In January, new homes will be required to have a special circuit breaker that can prevent electrical fires.

The state Building Code Council approved the change to the state's code, saying the devices would add as little as $60 to the cost of a smaller home and as much as a few hundred dollars.

"It all comes down to the value of a single life," said Kim Reitterer, a Charlotte electrical engineer on the council.

But homebuilders are fighting to repeal the requirement, calling it an unnecessary precaution that will make homes more expensive, adding as much as $1,000 to the cost of a 3,000-square-foot home.

The 17 members of the Building Code Council narrowly approved the requirement earlier this year, but a routine bill adopted by the legislature this summer included language ordering them to rethink the decision.

When the council meets early next week, it is scheduled to consider reversing the decision.

It is not clear exactly who in the legislature required the code council to revisit the issue. (N&O)