To pay or not to pay?

That is the question owners and boards of older Honolulu high-rise condos have grappled with for decades as they considered retrofitting their buildings with automatic sprinkler systems.

The result, however, seems to be unanimous: not pay and pray nothing happens.

But last week’s deadly blaze that swept through the Marco Polo building is a horrifying wake-up call that sprinkler systems are critical in helping protect tens of thousands of people who live in the roughly 300 residential towers on Oahu that are not equipped with them.

In the wake of the five-alarm blaze, which killed three residents and damaged about 200 units, Mayor Kirk Caldwell has proposed a bill to require installation of sprinklers in condos taller than 75 feet, or about seven stories. Current code requires high-rise condos built since 1975 to have sprinklers.

The 568-unit Marco Polo was completed in 1971, four years before sprinklers were required. The 36-story, curving tower is popular for its central location, resortlike amenities and sweeping views of the Waikiki skyline on one side and the mountains on the other.

The Marco Polo was designed with features to allow cross-ventilation to help cool the units naturally, which could be one reason the flames and thick smoke spread so quickly.

Regardless of whether the city requires older condos to add sprinklers, condo boards, owners and residents should proactively discuss and push for the installation of sprinkler systems.

It would’ve cost Marco Polo owners about $4.5 million, or about $8,000 a unit, to install a sprinkler system there in 2013, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Installing sprinklers will likely result in owners being subject to either higher maintenance fees or a special assessment if a building does not have enough funds. That would hit many owners in the pocketbook, including myself as an investor-owner of an older high-rise condo unit.

But it’s time.

And city and state leaders need to step up, not by just imposing new fire-safety measures, but to create tax incentives, low-interest loans or installment payment programs to help residents afford the installation of sprinkler systems.

The damage and insurance claims at the Marco Polo will be in the millions of dollars. It’s also affected hundreds of people who are trying to find temporary housing and working hard to piece their homes and lives back together.

“Fire is traumatic on anyone’s psyche. I’ve been experiencing shock, worry, anger and lots of uncertainty about the future of this building. I guess it’s true that home is where the heart is,” said resident Dara Young, who has owned in the Marco Polo for 10 years. “I really, really worry about the kupuna in this building. Many of them have lived here for years, so it’s a huge upheaval in everyone’s life.”

Fire Chief Manuel Neves believes sprinklers would have made a difference.

“Without a doubt, if there were sprinklers in this apartment, the fire would have been contained to the unit of origin,” he said.

The three victims who perished were same-floor neighbors of the 26th-floor unit where the fire started. So, the answer to me seems pretty clear: pay now to keep our family, friends, firefighters and neighbors safe.

“We cannot put price tags on lives,” Young said.

Jaymes Song is a top-producing agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Advantage Realty in Kahala. He can be reached at 228-3332 or JaymesS@BetterHawaii.com.