Committee hears bill to bar local sprinkler mandates for agricultural buildings

Representative Dane Deel introduced House Bill 533 on behalf of agricultural producers, saying the measure would prevent local political subdivisions from adopting National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards that would require sprinkler suppression systems in certain agricultural buildings.

The bill, Deel said, “just prohibits political subdivisions from adopting the National Fire Protection Association bill” as it applies to new or existing ag structures, and is intended as a “proactive carve-out” so producers are not forced to absorb large per-head or per-acre costs when building or retrofitting livestock and poultry facilities.

Supporters told the committee the primary concern is cost and feasibility. Brent Hemphill of the Missouri Pork Association said the NFPA adopted a…