The sprinkler system would need to be installed in any addition or substantial renovation of existing space as well as in the existing space. Currently, builders are only required to put a sprinkler system in an addition.
Ed Shanahan, CEO of the Real Estate Board acknowledges that his group opposed this bill about two years ago, when it was introduced because "we thought it was unnecessary at the time" as well as for economic reasons. But, as Shanahan tells GlobeSt.com, that was before 100 people died in a fire in The Station, a club in RI. Shanahan says that, in the wake of the tragedy, his group talked to building owners and managers and revisited its position on the issue. "The overwhelming consensus of the managers and owners was that [the sprinklers] make the buildings safer for tenants," notes Shanahan.
The bill passed the Committee on Public Safety but Shanahan says that the committee is planning to create a sub-committee to refine some of the bill's language. Shanahan points out that his group still has some minor concerns with the bill such as the date of its enforcement and the inclusion of one-story buildings. Shanahan anticipates that once the bill comes out of committee it will move quickly through the legislative process.
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