San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood says, despite the fact that 35 high rise commercial and residential structures in the city still lack fire suppression sprinkler systems, all of the high rise buildings are in compliance with safety standards, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The City began an aggressive 12 year program to retrofit existing high rise buildings, and require new high rises, to install fire sprinkler systems following the December 2014 fire at the Wedgewood Senior Living high rise at Blanco and Loop 410 that left six people dead.
Hood says real estate companies and buildings owners are fully cooperative with the city's new goals, and adding major seven figure financial incentives for owners of older buildings to embark on the expensive process of retrofitting their buildings has also helped.
"They understand that the quicker they get this done, the cheaper its going to be for them," Hood told City Council's Public Safety Committee.
Hood says the costs of retrofitting are enormous, as much as $4 per square foot, as well as the fire pump and standpipe systems, not to mention the loss of business operations for commercial buildings and the disruption of daily life in residential structures. He says in some cases, occupancy has to be 'phased' while areas of the building are under construction, meaning existing tenants will have to be moved out at an inconvenience to them and a loss to the building owner.
He says the city has also agreed to exempt privately owned condos in high rise buildings from the requirement to install fire suppression sprinklers inside the condos.He says when fires are reported in individual units, a general building sprinkler system is generally able to keep it contained.
"That fire is going to stay right in that room, but if the corridors are sprinkled, that will allow the residents to get out, and prevent that fire from spreading to other areas of the condo."
Hood says he is confident that there will be full compliance within the 12 year time frame, which stretches until January of 2028.