Sprinkler group disappointed with new White Point lodge

The Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association says it believes sprinklers should be installed in the new White Point lodge, which opened this week after fire destroyed the facility's main building a year ago.

According to provincial guidelines, requirements for a sprinkler system depend on the size, use, construction and occupancy of a building.

Robert Risley, the owner of the White Point Beach Resort, said the size of the new White Point lodge is just shy of 25,000 square feet and a sprinkler system is not mandatory.

He told CBC News the lodge meets all requirements with an "excellent" fire safety system, including steel and fireproof construction as well as a fire alarm system. Risley estimates a sprinkler system would have cost an additional $300,000.

But Matt Osburn, with the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association, told CBC News his group believes sprinklers should be mandatory in all new residential buildings, including lodges and hotels.

"Statistics bear out and have shown the benefit of residential sprinklers. For example, the city of Vancouver had passed a residential sprinkler bylaw early in the 1990s and since that time they have not had a fire fatality in a fully sprinklered building," he said.

"The benefits of sprinklers are out there. It's just a means of educating the consumer and the general public about the benefits of them."

The 83-year-old White Point lodge was destroyed on Nov. 12, 2011 after a fire ripped through the main building of the historic tourist attraction. It was considered a terrible blow to the local community and region, throwing more than 100 employees out of work.

The resort was insured.

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Sprinkler group disappointed with new White Point lodge