EVIDENCE:
Retrofit laws are feasible, effective, and common life-safety policy.
Across the country, cities and states have successfully adopted retroactive sprinkler requirements for existing high-rise buildings and other multi-unit occupancies. These laws demonstrate that retrofits can be completed without displacement, with affordable long-term compliance timelines, and with major public-safety benefits for residents and firefighters.
Below is a representative list of jurisdictions that have required sprinklers in older buildings after construction, proving the feasibility of San Francisco’s own high-rise retrofit law.
Cities with high-rise sprinkler retrofit laws
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After a major downtown fire, L.A. mandated sprinkler retrofits in all existing high-rise office buildings, with older residential towers required to sprinkler common areas.
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San Diego adopted a high-rise retrofit mandate in the 1980s. Efforts are ongoing to reinstate its full requirements after parts of the law were rolled back.
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Since 1993, the City has required retroactive sprinklers for existing high-rise commercial buildings and hotels. Now, standards are being adopted for older residential towers — that’s why you’re here.
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San Jose required all existing high-rise buildings — including residential — to retrofit sprinklers beginning in the early ’80s, with multi-year compliance. Today, the law has been fully implemented.
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Atlanta requires sprinklers in existing buildings taller than 75 feet, including residential, business, institutional, and hotel uses.
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After the 2017 Marco Polo condo fire, which killed four and injured 13, Honolulu passed an ordinance requiring all older high-rise residential buildings to undergo a fire-safety evaluation and either pass or fully retrofit sprinklers.
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Louisville mandates sprinklers in all high-rise buildings (those that rise past 75 feet), with limited low-hazard exceptions.
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Billings requires sprinklers in all existing high-rise buildings, without exceptions.
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A 1991 ordinance requires sprinklers in all Philadelphia high-rises above 75 feet (with narrow residential exceptions), phased in over 66 months.
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In Houston, all high-rise commercial and most residential buildings must retrofit sprinklers, creating de-facto retroactive coverage.
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San Antonio enacted a retrofit law after a deadly high-rise fire, requiring sprinklers in nearly all existing residential and commercial towers, with partial exemptions for condos.
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Casper requires sprinklers in all existing high-rise buildings, without exceptions.
States with broad retrofit laws covering multiple building types
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Florida requires retroactive sprinklers in public lodging over three stories, as well as in assisted-living facilities and state prisons.
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Statewide sprinkler laws exist in Illinois for nursing homes and all college and university dorms.
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Massachusetts requires sprinklers in older high-rises statewide (above 70 ft) and mandates sprinklers in large assembly spaces and certain boarding homes.
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Retroactive sprinkler requirements exist in Nevada for hotels, assemblies, and older high-rises, depending on occupancy and height.
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A statewide retrofit mandate in New Jersey applies to hospitals, hotels and motels, non-residential high-rises, boarding homes, and residential care facilities.
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Retroactive sprinkler requirements in Rhode Island cover hotels, assemblies, and older high-rises, depending on occupancy and height.
What does this all mean for San Francisco?
Retrofits are mainstream safety policy.
Major U.S. cities and states have already implemented high-rise retrofit laws successfully.
Costs are manageable with long timelines.
Cities routinely allow five to 15 years for compliance, reducing disruption and preventing displacement.
Lives are saved.
Sprinklers reduce high-rise fire deaths by 80% to 90%, protect firefighters, and limit catastrophic property loss.
SF is not alone — and not extreme.
SF’s 12-year retrofit timeline is entirely in line with national norms and is more flexible than several peer jurisdictions.
Primary Sources
Read the position statement adopted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs on fire sprinkler retrofits.
Read the fact sheet from the Sprinkler Fitters Association of California and the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
Read the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades Council’s letter to the SF Board of Supervisors.