Enact, uphold sprinkler laws
Recent tragedies in the city of Chicago and surrounding suburbs have called to attention life safety ordinances, or lack thereof. It is an absolute shame it takes severe injuries or deaths to re-initiate thought and discussion on this topic. The time to act is now.
After the tragic Cook County building fire in October 2003, the city of Chicago passed an ordinance requiring a life safety plan for buildings in excess of 75 feet tall. Building managers and owners were given seven years to comply. Records show 76 percent of buildings that filed life safety plans failed to achieve the standards set forth by the Department of Buildings. With fines that range from $500 to $1,000, the city would stand to collect upward of $20 million.
This isn’t about the money going into city coffers, this is about public safety. The time to act is now.
Why doesn’t the city require fire sprinkler systems in all multiple business and family dwellings? Accidents that result in fires are bound to happen. Why must anyone suffer loss of life or severe injury due to someone else’s mistakes or accidents?
Anyone complaining about water damage from a sprinkler being activated should think again. Only the sprinkler closest to the fire activates, eliminating unnecessary water in other areas. Smoke alarms will help alert us to fires, but will not help to extinguish them. Sprinklers will extinguish or control a fire, and send a signal for the fire department to respond.
This saves minutes in response time, and helps to prevent flashover such as what contributed to the death of the defenseless 32-year-old woman recently. Please, let’s urge building owners to comply, and municipal agencies to adopt and enforce ordinances to prevent these unnecessary tragedies from recurring. The time to act is now.
Jeff Pruemer
Crystal Lake