MYTH:

Sprinkler retrofitting is outrageously expensive and impossible for condo owners to afford.

FACT:

Actual retrofit costs — based on completed projects, national data, and SF’s own 2016 legislative analysis — are far lower than the inflated estimates circulated by opponents.

More facts:

• Cities like San Jose, Philadelphia, and Honolulu have completed large-scale retrofits at predictable, manageable costs.

• Financing can be spread over many years.

• Retrofits increase property resilience, reduce insurance risk, and stabilize long-term value.

• The cost of a single high-rise fire can exceed the cost of retrofitting an entire building.

• Sprinklers are one of the highest-value, lowest-cost safety upgrades available.

MYTH:

Sprinkler retrofitting will displace residents, forcing people from their homes.

FACT:

Modern retrofits are routinely completed with residents in place.

More facts:

• Union-signatory contractors regularly retrofit occupied high-rise buildings using:

  • Flexible piping systems,

  • Minimal-intrusion ceiling drops,

  • Unit-by-unit scheduling, and

  • Short in-unit work windows (often a few hours at a time).

• Thousands of buildings nationwide have been retrofitted without displacement, including condos, hotels, offices, and mixed-use towers.

• San Francisco’s 12-year compliance timeline further minimizes any disruption.

MYTH:

Sprinkler retrofitting isn’t necessary because high-rise fires are rare.

FACT:

Not only are high-rise fires increasingly common, but they result in higher fatality, injury, and property-loss risks than fires in lower buildings.

More facts:

• During high-rise fires, flames spread vertically and stairwells fill with smoke, making evacuation far more dangerous.

• National fire data shows that sprinklers:

  • Reduce fire deaths by 80% to 90%,

  • Reduce firefighter injuries,

  • Stop fires from spreading beyond the room of origin, and

  • Prevent catastrophic losses that displace hundreds of residents.

• The risk is real — and sprinklers are the proven solution.

MYTH:

With sprinkler retrofitting requirements, San Francisco is doing something extreme that other cities don’t require.

FACT:

Dozens of U.S. jurisdictions have retroactive sprinkler retrofit laws already on the books. That includes major cities as well as entire states.

More facts:

• Places where retroactive sprinkler retrofit laws have been successfully carried out include:

  • Atlanta,

  • Honolulu,

  • Los Angeles,

  • Louisville,

  • Philadelphia,

  • San Antonio, and

  • San Jose.

• San Francisco’s 12-year timeline is moderate and mainstream compared to these cities.

MYTH:

There are cheaper or equivalent alternatives to sprinkler retrofitting.

FACT:

No alternative matches the
life-saving impact of sprinklers.

More facts:

• According to fire experts and national code organizations, including NFPA, ICC, and the National Fire Sprinkler Association:

  • Sprinklers are the most effective and reliable fire-safety system ever developed.

  • Alarm systems, stairwell pressurization, and compartmentation are valuable, but they do not extinguish a fire — only sprinklers do.

MYTH:

Buildings that have survived devastating fires this long don’t need sprinkler retrofitting now.

FACT:

Fire conditions today — more synthetic materials, faster-burning furniture, higher occupancy — mean fires can reach flashover in under five minutes, creating a dangerous scenario in a non-sprinklered tower.

More facts:

• Older high-rises often lack:

  • Fire-resistant construction,

  • Modern detection systems,

  • Controlled exit paths,

  • Adequate smoke protection, and

  • Reliable water supply systems.

• Upgrading life-safety systems in older buildings is responsible, overdue, and essential.

MYTH:

The City should delay or weaken the law to further study the issue of sprinkler retrofitting.

FACT:

This law was built on extensive analysis from the start.

More facts:

• All of the following went into the development of San Francisco’s sprinkler retrofit ordinance:

  • A full legislative report by the Budget and Legislative Analyst,

  • National fire-safety research, and

  • Input from firefighters, engineers, and safety experts.

• A long implementation runway already exists.

• Delaying now serves only the narrow interests of a few well-funded condo associations rather than citywide public safety.