Bill requires hotels to have fire sprinklers by 2007

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"We feel like a sprinkler system in this terrible tragedy would have saved some lives," he said. "If they are going to rent rooms to the public they are going to have to provide this."

The bill requires that every lodging establishment comply with the latest edition of the International Building Codes standards for fire suppression, which call for sprinklers. New hotels already must comply with the standards but older ones do not.

The five-story Comfort Inn, built in the 1980s, had passed its most recent inspection and wasn't required to have sprinklers because it predated more stringent fire codes and because recent remodeling didn't include any additions, said Gary Downey, chief of the Wade Hampton Fire District.

Smith, chairman of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, said he knows hotel officials will complain about the cost, but he believes the safety sprinklers provide is worth it.

State Rep. Karl Allen of Greenville said he liked Smith's bill but wants to be sure hotel owners have enough time to comply.

"The exact date may have to be looked at," he said. "The issue itself is one of grave importance. Certainly a life is worth a sprinkler system."

Smith wasted no time in getting the bill moving Tuesday. It was assigned to his committee, he said, and he sent it to a subcommittee that will take it up today.

House Speaker David Wilkins praised Smith for the legislation and said his staff is also researching remedies.

"We're looking at what other states do, what the penalties are," he said. "You could flat require it and there would be a criminal penalty or you could propose tax credits to offer incentives."

Tom Sponseller, director of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, which represents 1,700 hotels statewide, said any legislation should not just apply to hotels.

"Saving a life is worth every dollar," he said. "But when you're talking about a building, it gets real expensive. If we're going to do something retroactively to add sprinklers or fire systems, it should apply to all public buildings."

Investigators suspect the Comfort Inn fire was arson and have asked a federal fire reconstruction team to look into it.