New NFPA Journal column looks at effort in Alabama to strike arc fault circuit interrupters from state code

In his column in the new November/December issue of NFPA Journal, Jeffrey Sargent, details the Alabama Energy and Residential Code Board’s consideration of a proposal to remove the requirement of arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) from the state’s Residential Building Code. The proposal, supported by a homebuilders group, would affect new construction of one- and two-family homes. AFCIs were simply too expensive, the homebuilders argued; by their own estimate, AFCI installation in a typical home costs about $300. In the column, “Sweet Home Alabama,” Sargent, a regional educational code specialist at NFPA, details the fight, what’s at stake, and how...