Out of last year’s tragic fire at the Marco Polo condo tower came a community-wide reckoning about fire safety in Oahu’s older high-rise buildings.

Typically, concern about such a difficult issue would fade with time and be left for another day. Thankfully, the typical didn’t happen. We saw some real progress last week.

The fast-spreading July 14 fire at the Marco Polo, a McCully high-rise constructed before fire sprinklers became mandatory in 1975, led to the deaths of four people and caused more than $100 million in damage. Parts of the building remain uninhabitable.

The debate that followed largely pitted those who wanted more than 300 high-rises without sprinklers retrofitted — whatever the cost — against those who would likely bear the cost: condo owners and their associations. Some protested that the cost of retrofitting would drive the most vulnerable, elderly folks on fixed incomes, out of their homes.

The result was a compromise. The City Council on Wednesday approved a bill that would require high-rises to either install sprinklers or put in place other, approved safety measures. It’s hoped that the measure not only will make these buildings safer, but make their occupants more vigilant about fire safety.

Initially, Bill 69 called for retrofitting older residential high-rises with sprinkler systems; it was later amended to give incentives, such as tax credits and fee waivers, to condo associations if they install sprinklers. The measure, which Mayor Kirk Caldwell has already signed into law, also requires that buildings with at least 10 stories undergo a fire safety evaluation within three years. Then owners must decide whether to install sprinklers or opt for other fire prevention strategies.

Clearly, the issue deserves sustained attention. In testimony submitted to the city in support of retrofits, the National Fire Protection Association noted that 80 percent of fire fatalities in the U.S. occur in residences.

As for the Marco Polo itself, a majority of condo owners demonstrated their vigilance by voting to retrofit the building with sprinklers. It will be a big project: The 35-story building has 568 residential units and four commercial units. The money to pay for retrofitting will come out of the Association of Apartment Owners of the Marco Polo’s reserves, with estimated per unit price tags ranging from $8,000 to $22,000, which would include both retrofitting the units and common areas.

For the city, this adds up to worthy first-step response to the tragedy. Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association (HFFA), rightly points out that at least a few more steps are needed to address both high-rise resident and firefighter safety — and bring to a full close investigation of the Honolulu Fire Department’s response to the seven-alarm Marco Polo blaze.

Lee said the wind-driven fire moved fast partly because standard fire prevention strategies, such as keeping hallway doors shut, had apparently been sidestepped by allowing louvered doors for the sake of ventilation. More needs to be done to ensure that high-rise units are in full compliance with fire code.

Also, in the aftermath of the city’s largest-ever high-rise fire, HFFA is still seeking responses from HFD’s leadership regarding complaints from firefighters who said they did not have the right resources to respond as efficiently as possible.

In mid-September, the union took the matter to the city Fire Commission, and HFD’s brass declined to respond until the report process wraps up. One month later, it was announced that investigators had been unable to pinpoint the fire’s cause. On Friday, Lee said he was still waiting for HFD’s “after-action report” to be released. City leaders should prod the department to make public the report — 10 months is a long time to wait for such a review.