Chicago high rise fire case study

Safety, cost duel it out in city sprinkler debate:[Chicago Final Edition]

Jon Yates, Tribune staff reporter Tribune staff reporter Grace Aduroja contributed to this report. Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Ill.: Nov 2, 2003.  pg. 4

Abstract (Article Summary)

[Mary E. Millen], 88, looks out over Lake Shore Drive. Her building on North Sheridan Road does not have sprinklers. Tyrone Taylor and Mike Regan of United States Fire Protection Co. install sprinklers in a Hilliard Home high-rise. The city may require sprinklers in buildings that once were exempt.

Full Text (1206   words)

Copyright 2003 by the Chicago Tribune)

The fire was down the hallway but the smoke settled like a dingy film on walls outside Sandra Richie's fifth-floor apartment, a pungent reminder that her North Side high-rise lacks the one safety feature she covets.

"I think sprinklers are a good idea, but I don't think passing the costs onto residents would be good," said Richie, 67. She moved into the 12-story, non-profit senior apartment building at 5700 N. Sheridan Rd. on Tuesday, the same day a small fire broke out, injuring three residents.

More than two weeks after a fire at the Cook County Administration Building, which lacked sprinklers, left six people dead, an alderman's proposal to require older high-rises like Richie's to install sprinklers has sparked a lively debate among politicians, condominium owners, renters and property managers.

For many, the proposal boils down to a simple equation: Is the safety that sprinklers provide worth the cost?

"I'd rather be safe," said Mary E. Millen, 88, who lives one floor below Richie. "That's all that's important to me."

Managers of some larger high-rises say the cost to retrofit their buildings could exceed $1 million, causing some condo owners to fear special assessments $7,000 or more.

Proponents say they are battling misinformation, both about costs and how sprinklers operate. In Millen's building, several residents oppose the proposal because they worry that a fire on another floor would set off the sprinklers in their apartments. Experts say that isn't true--that only sprinklers directly above the flames are activated.

The proposed ordinance, to be introduced by Ald. Edward Burke (14th) on Wednesday, would require all Chicago high-rise buildings constructed before 1975 to install sprinklers, a plan that affects about 800 buildings. It's unclear how many of the high-rises are residential.

The proposal has garnered Mayor Richard Daley's support but also significant opposition. Although the estimated cost of retrofitting older buildings varies widely, experts say sprinklers generally cost $2 to $5 a square foot to install.

"Every dollar counts and I don't think I have that kind of income," said Irfan Khan, 60, who owns a 23rd-floor condo at 5701 N. Sheridan Rd., and figures he'll wind up paying thousands of dollars if the ordinance passes.

Khan said he already faces one special assessment because his building is putting in new elevators, and his property taxes soon will increase.

"Where I live it's mostly senior citizens," he said. "How are they going to pay?"

Commercial buildings only?

Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), chairman of the City Council's Buildings Committee, said he would support Burke's proposal for commercial buildings, but not residential high-rises. Condo owners, Stone said, already have had to pay for facade inspections, backup generators and other new city requirements. Adding another cost, he said, would be too much.

"You could just forget about anyone living in a high-rise," Stone said. "It would just empty them out."

Stone owns an 1,800-square-foot condo and at $4 a square foot, installing sprinklers would require a special assessment of $7,200, he said.

Supporters say that costs have been exaggerated and that protecting people from fires should take precedence over other concerns.

"If anything is going to be done, residential should be first," said Thomas Lia, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, an organization that represents the sprinkler industry.

Lia said 82 percent of high-rise fire deaths nationwide occur in residential buildings. The cost of installing sprinklers, he said, can be at least partially offset by savings on fire insurance premiums, and the bill for installation can be spread out over several years.

A similar proposal in New York would give building owners until 2019 to install sprinklers. If passed in Chicago, Burke's ordinance probably would include a phase-in period, but it is unclear how long.

Chicago has toyed with the idea of requiring older building to install sprinklers in the past. A sprinkler ordinance was proposed in 1999 after two people died in a condominium fire on North Sheridan Road. The proposal, however, was tabled in part because of concerns over cost.

Burke has said he also proposed a sprinkler ordinance in 1993 after the World Trade Center was bombed, but that proposal died too.

Although the alderman still is writing his latest sprinkler ordinance, his office said it will apply to all buildings over 80 feet tall--about seven stories-- that were constructed before 1975. Under the city's code, only high-rises built after 1975 are required to have sprinklers.

Some support gathers

Unlike previous attempts, the current proposal appears to have some steam because of the Loop blaze and two high-rise fires last week. Proponents say sprinklers would have prevented the confusing evacuation on Oct. 17 when six workers died after being trapped in a locked stairwell.

In the high-rise fires last week, firefighters conducted quick and repeated top-to-bottom stairwell searches.

On Wednesday, a 46-year-old paraplegic man who officials say was smoking in bed was killed in a fire in the 34-story South Shore Beach Apartments. The apartment building at 7474 South Shore Drive is up to code, but does not have sprinklers.

Neither does Hollywood House on North Sheridan. In 1999, two people were killed in a similar fire there. Although there were only minor injuries Tuesday, it again got residents and managers debating the costs and benefits of sprinklers.

Because the building was constructed in 1964, it was not required to have sprinklers. When the code changed more than a decade later, the building and hundreds of others were exempted.

Property manager Christ Kutrubis said the best scenario would be for the building's owners to install sprinklers. All of the building's residents are senior citizens and some use wheelchairs or walkers, making it difficult to evacuate in a fire.

Costs draw criticism

But retrofitting the building would be expensive, a cost that could not be passed to its residents, many of whom have fixed incomes. Complicating it all is that the building is owned by the Hellenic Foundation, a non-profit group that would be hard-pressed to bankroll the project.

"I think [sprinklers] are the best thing that could happen, personally," Kutrubis said. "As a building manager, of course, you have to be concerned about what you're spending and where it's coming from."

Some residents, like Cydelle Manchester, 79, said they feel safe in the building, but would welcome sprinklers as an added measure of security.

"We're old," she said. "Whatever help we can get sure would be great."

Ibrahim Shihdeh, president of Creative Designs, which owns South Shore Beach Apartments, said he likely would have to borrow money or sell some properties to afford sprinklers. He would pass those costs on, but renters cannot absorb as much of the cost as condo owners.

"I mean, eventually, somebody's going to have to pay for it," said Ibrahim, whose company owns six buildings, both condos and rentals, over 80 feet tall.

[Illustration]

PHOTOS 2; Caption: PHOTO (color): Mary Millen, 88, looks out over Lake Shore Drive. Her building on North Sheridan Road does not have sprinklers. Tribune photo by Alex Garcia. PHOTO: Tyrone Taylor (left) and Mike Regan of United States Fire Protection Co. install sprinklers in a Hilliard Home high-rise. The city may require sprinklers in buildings that once were exempt. Tribune photo by Milbert O. Brown.

Section:  

Metro

ISSN/ISBN:  

10856706

Text Word Count  

1206