Senate committee scraps sprinkler bill

Senators considering a bill that would require sprinkler systems in hotels have asked that the bill be rewritten after two Charleston senators raised concerns about its impact on historic Charleston lodgings.

Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greenville, proposed the bill after a Jan. 25 fire at a Greenville Comfort Inn killed six people and injured 12. The five-story hotel, built in the 1980s, was not required to be equipped with sprinklers. Fire officials say some lives could have been saved if the building had sprinklers.

Smith’s legislation had called for all hotels to be equipped with sprinklers by July 1, 2007. Concerns about the bill’s impact on motel and hotel owners led to a compromise this week that would require only hotels taller than three stories to have sprinklers.

But that proposal died Wednesday when several senators in a Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee raised concerns about the bill’s financial impact on hotels. The committee told staff members to draft a new proposal.

Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said the bill could put Charleston historic lodgings out of business “or is just impractical to comply.” He said lawmakers might have to exempt historic Charleston structures to win sprinkler approval.

“I can’t support something which would destroy historical buildings,” he said. “On the other side, I think people should be put on notice if the building doesn’t conform. We may need to put stricter requirements on alarm systems.”

Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, said adding sprinklers would create a financial hardship for at least two of the city’s historic hotels. One answer might be to extend the time allowed to comply with the bill for historic hotels, he said.

Dorothy Scroskey of Lansing, Mich., who lost a daughter and a grandson in the Comfort Inn fire, said she does not understand why lawmakers are concerned about cost.

“It makes me truly angry that they would say what it would cost,” she said. “There’s no price that can be put on my daughter’s or my grandson’s life. I can’t believe they would even think of saying no to something like this.”