High-rise sprinkler reporting bill filed in state House

NEWS

Posted TODAY, 2:27 PM Updated TODAY, 5:40 PM

SAN ANTONIO - A bill that would require local governments and fire departments to report information on high-rise buildings in their jurisdictions not equipped with fire protection sprinkler systems to the state fire marshal has been introduced in the Texas House by San Antonio Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-District 116).

HB 4011 would also require the state fire marshal to report that information to the Legislature.

I filed this legislation to bring the state fire marshal further into the conversation, and to make sure that we have a statewide assessment of all residential high-rise buildings posing this extreme risk to our citizens, Martinez Fischer said in a statement. The goal of this bill is to ensure that local governments report detailed information on the state of such buildings, and encourage them to develop and maintain emergency plans of action and seek retrofit ordinances to retrofit these buildings with the appropriate safety systems.

In December, a fire at the Wedgwood Senior Apartments in San Antonio claimed the lives of six residents, injured a dozen more and displaced hundreds.

Though the cause of the fire has been ruled undetermined, the facility was not equipped with a sprinkler system. The Wedgwood did not have a sprinkler system because it was grandfathered in after the City of Castle Hills began requiring sprinklers in 2012.

According to Martinez Fischer, his bill "respects local control and affords local governments the flexibility they need to address these deficiencies, while enabling the fire marshal to monitor and make additional recommendations to advance this progress."

Meanwhile, State Rep. Rick Galindo, R-District 117, recently filed House Bill 3089 that require sprinklers in all high-rise residential buildings.

The bill defines a high-rise as a building reaching 75 feet above the ground or higher.

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High-rise sprinkler reporting bill filed in state House