Fire that killed 5 in Milwaukee started in apartment complex with no sprinklers. Why? They weren't required

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In the aftermath of the horrific fire that claimed the lives of five people and injured seven others, some are pointing to the fact that the building did not have a fire sprinkler system -- something that fire officials in the city and across the state believe could save lives.

"If we had sprinklers in the building, we would have stopped the fire very, very small. We would not have had to have people jumping out of windows, we would not have had to pull people out of windows, we would not have to drop people out of hallways to rescue them," Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said on Sunday while crews responded to the fire. 

According to city officials, the building that caught fire was built in the 1960s, so it was grandfathered in and not forced to add a sprinkler system.

“If you’re living in an unsprinklered building, you’re living at a much higher risk, than, say, someone who is living in a more modern building,” said Bill Sullivan, chair of the Wisconsin Fire Sprinkler Coalition, an organization dedicated to educating people about residential fire sprinkler systems. “The number of people that die in fires across this country is too many, especially since we know and we have the means to prevent all those losses.”

The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services states that the requirement for automatic fire sprinkler protection for buildings that exceed 60 feet in height has been in effect since 1974.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson says he would support looking at changing building codes, though he's conscious of how much it costs to update older buildings.

"If you're going to make sure there's a system in place and get rid of the grandfather clause, or modify it, perhaps there would be a time in which folks would be able to do that, and there should be some additional support," Mayor Johnson said.

Sullivan says if you don’t have sprinklers in your apartment unit, he recommends people keep fire doors latched to buy the fire department time to respond to a fire. Sullivan also recommends people ask about sprinklers when looking for places to rent.