Milwaukee council reconsiders sprinkler requirements after fatal Mother's Day fire

MILWUAKEE (CBS 58) -- It's been over two weeks since the deadly Mother's Day fire that killed five people, left multiple in critical condition and hundreds displaced.

While the building was up to code, one of the reasons the fire spread so quickly was because there are no sprinkler systems in the building.

This issue brought city leaders together to learn more about building code and how many residential units in Milwaukee don't have sprinkler systems.

"Where exactly is the problem? Because clearly this kind of loss of life is tragic and something we want to prevent," said Robert Bauman, District 4 alderman.

On Wednesday, May 28, the Zoning, Neighborhood and Development Committee learned more about the changes over the years to the state's sprinkler requirements.

"The building wasn't sprinklered because at the time it was built, state law did not require it to be sprinklered," said Alderman Bauman.

The main argument to not retrofitting sprinklers into these older buildings is because of cost.

"It is not free, it is roughly the cost per unit of putting in a new carpet," said Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.

Fire Chief Lipski says sprinklers are the silver bullet solution to saving countless lives during a fire.

"How are humans supposed to survive this? Sprinklers offer the most logical step to solve the problem," said Chief Lipski.

"That expense, in my mind, is far less than the value of human life," said Milele Coggs, District 6 alderwoman.

The Department of Neighborhood Services commissioner says roughly 30,000 to 40,000 residents in Milwaukee are living in a building without sprinklers.

"Roughly 70% pre-1974, and unless they did major renovations or changes to that building, it's up to the owner if they want to put the sprinklers in," said Chief Lipski.

While nothing was passed on Wednesday, Chief Lipski says important information was shared. He says he hopes this issue doesn't fall through the cracks.

Alderman Peter Burgelis suggested landlords be required to have tenants sign a waiver before moving into a building without sprinklers.

The Legislative Affair Division suggested seeing if landlords could apply for grants from the state's budget surplus to retrofit sprinklers into their buildings.