FRANK J. HERRICK CITY OF LEAWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF THE FIRE MARSHAL 14801 MISSION ROAD LEAWOOD, KS. 66224-9560 OFFICE: 913.681.6788 x 26 FAX: 913.681.2399 CELL: 913.238.6942
Subject: Lack of sprinkler system in high-rise questioned How many times does Chicago have to learn the same lesson ? SAME BUILDING SECOND LOSS OF LIFE FIRE. Frank J. Herrick Kansas City http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7166633 Condo owner at 280 East Chestnut, Chicago, IL. Maureen Marley quotes: "First thing was anger that this is happening again, and a little bit of fear.' Oh god, not me again. Don't involve me in this again,' Marley said. Eight years ago next month, a fire on Maureen's 14th floor took a life. "No building is safe without sprinklers," Marley said. After the 2002 fire, Marley became a strong advocate for sprinklers, testifying before the city council that redrew Chicago's fire safety ordinance for high-rises. The new code allowed older high-rises to opt for other life-safety improvements short of a costly retrofit for sprinklers. That's what the condo association at 280 East Chestnut chose to do. It installed an annunciator system, which broadcasts loud warnings and gives instructions to residents above and below the fire floors. "The annunciator, that announcing machine is not going to put out a fire," Marley said Owners of many older high-rises argued that complete sprinkler retrofits would simply be cost prohibitive, and they pursued -- as did the condo association at 280 East Chestnut -- other fire safety options which the revised code allows. Beata Bihl, 84 years old died in her apartment apparently because of an electrical problem in a kitchen appliance. Frank J. Herrick Kansas City _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
