MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee's Fire Chief is sounding the alarm about the absence of fire sprinkler systems in certain buildings, following a tragic apartment fire that claimed the lives of five people over the weekend.
The fire at the Highland Court Apartments near 27th and Highland has brought renewed focus to the safety standards in apartments built before 1974, which are exempt from laws requiring sprinkler systems in many cases.
The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) states that any building constructed after 1974 that is 60 feet or higher is required to have a sprinkler system.
WATCH: Deadly Milwaukee apartment fire prompts calls to update sprinkler system requirements
They also require sprinklers in buildings that present a “substantial fire risk or require increased protection for occupants.”
However, even the department acknowledges the "complexity" in determining which buildings require automatic fire sprinkler protection.
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said in an email to TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins on Monday that he recently learned nearly 70% of Milwaukee's high-rise buildings were constructed before 1974, indicating that most do not have fire sprinkler systems. He suspects a similar situation may apply to many non-high-rise buildings as well.
The issue resonates across many communities in Southeast Wisconsin.
RoseAnn, a resident of a senior living apartment in West Allis, shared her concerns with the newsroom. She has lived in her apartment for 11 years, and expressed particular anxiety regarding the lack of sprinkler systems in her building, which has six floors.
"I don't want to die in a fire. I don't want to have to jump out of my third-floor window in order to save myself, or maybe kill myself by jumping out of the third floor," RoseAnn said. "I think it should be a law that something gets done about this."
Jenkins asked RoseAnn whether it is time for the grandfather clause that allows older builds to be exempt from the requirements to be reconsidered.
“Definitely," she said. "That’s too many years ago. Way back. To me, it doesn’t even make sense that they allowed this to begin with. I would’ve thought that it would’ve been a law way back that when you’re living in an apartment this big that they would do something with sprinklers.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, fire sprinkler systems can reduce the risk of dying from a fire by 80%, which is why residents like RoseAnn believe their installation should be a requirement.
When asked what message she would like to send to lawmakers, RoseAnn said, “Please, I beg you to do something as soon as possible.”
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