Editorial: Condos should advance fire safety

Last year’s deadly fire at the Marco Polo condominium, a building without automatic fire sprinklers, prompted much-needed discussion about safety in Honolulu high-rise residential buildings.

The tragedy killed four people, and dramatically illustrated the unique dangers of an out-of-control fire high above the ground in a densely populated building: Residents struggling to escape down smoke-filled hallways, firefighters struggling to reach the blaze, risking life and limb to carry heavy equipment up and victims down.

But even protecting lives comes with a cost-benefit analysis. The most effective solution — requiring the installation of fire sprinklers in the roughly 360 condo buildings on Oahu without them — was deemed too expensive by condo association representatives and some residents.

Instead, the City Council last spring approved a compromise that allowed condo buildings, in lieu of installing sprinklers, to conduct a safety evaluation within three years and comply with the evaluation’s finding in six years.

So far, so good. But on Wednesday, the Council compromised further. It approved a bill to extend those deadlines by two years respectively: Five years for the evaluation and eight years for compliance.

Why? The new rules have defects that require more time to smooth out, condo association representatives argue. The Honolulu Fire Department disagrees: “Let’s just keep it going so we get these buildings fixed,” said HFD Assistant Chief Socrates Bratakos.

We agree with Bratakos. A hard deadline requires all parties, HFD included, to get the work done without procrastinating. After all, condo dwellers aren’t the only ones at risk; so are the firefighters who respond to the dreaded call. Condos should move quickly to implement the necessary safety measures.