Saving Money or Saving Lives

A CMHC study1 has found that municipalities may save money on fire protection services by introducing mandatory residential fire sprinklers for new developments. However, the savings are far less than the additional costs to install the sprinklers, a cost which the home builder would pass on to the home buyer.

The potential savings for the fire department will be reduced or eliminated unless all of the following conditions are present: new residential development will be in unserviced areas beyond the existing fire stations; all new buildings will have sprinklers; the fire department can have longer response times in areas with sprinklers; and the fire department primarily fights fires, providing only secondary support for medical and other emergencies.

Fire Chief Pat Graham of Rocky View, Alberta, commented that it was unfortunate the study was based on cost alone, "The primary reason for being for a fire service is the protection of life, and property protection is second."

What is the value of a human life?

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) estimates the cost of an impaired driving fatality in BC at $3.3 million, an injury at $113,000 and property damage only at $6,0002. That includes the cost of society of lost productivity, administration (police, government and other), and the employer's human resource investment, in addition to the direct costs paid out for medical and funeral expenses, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, lost wages, legal fees and vehicle and property repairs.

Based on these figures, ICBC estimates that the true cost to society of impaired driving in BC alone is $1.59 billion annually. Extrapolating from this figure, the annual cost of impaired driving to Canadian society as a whole is well over $16 billion.

What is the bottom line when it comes to safety? How can limited tax monies be spent to protect the public most effectively? How much is it really worth to society to prevent one fatality? There are no easy answers to these questions.

References
1. Costs and Benefits to Municipalities of Mandatory Residential Fire Sprinklers, Canadian Housing Information Centre: tel. 1-800-668-2642; fax (613) 748-4069.
2. Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Impaired Driving Position Paper, February 10, 1999

Return to top of page