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Pittsburgh fire chief calls for law to require more sprinkler systems

Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones believes sprinklers save lives.

That, sadly, didn't happen during the fire at the Midtown Towers on Monday because, like many older high-rises in the city, the building doesn’t have a sprinkler system.

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As a result, Jones is calling for a new law to require more buildings, including all new homes, to have sprinkler systems. Currently, only city high-rises built after 1990 or those going through major renovations are required to install sprinkler systems.

"Residential high-rises, the retrofitting, yes, and the residential sprinkler system for the single-family dwellings. ... I'm hopeful there can be some legislation that comes up with that,” Jones said.

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State legislators passed a law in 2010 requiring sprinklers in all new homes, but it was overturned about a year later after concerns about cost.

In a statement to Channel 11, the Pennsylvania Builder’s Association said, in part, “PBA sympathizes with those victims and their families of the recent fatal fires in Pennsylvania. We firmly advocate for working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers as a frontline defense against fire fatalities in residential dwellings."

It could be more than a month until residents of Midtown Towers are allowed back in their homes.