At least three of the four people killed in the worst Atlanta fire in nine years would probably have lived if sprinklers had been required in the 27-year-old office building, the city's top fire official said Saturday.
"In this instance, I guarantee you there wouldn't have been four deaths if sprinklers had been in there," said Acting Fire Chief Tom Perrin.The 10-story Peachtree 25th building, which housed 1,200 office workers including those from six federal agencies, was built in 1962 - 12 years before city codes required sprinkler systems in new buildings taller than eight stories, Perrin said.
No laws were passed to force the owners of older buildings to install the sprinklers, he said.
Building owners "say it costs too much, but how much are these four lives going to cost?" Perrin said. "You know there are going to be lawsuits filed in a fire like this."
A series of powerful electrical explosions apparently set off when an electrical worker was changing a fuse triggered the blaze at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Much of the building was evacuated quickly, but a number of workers were trapped and broke out windows to escape choking plumes of smoke.
They were rescued by firefighters using ladders, but one woman, 20-year-old Cassandra Hayward, leaped from a sixth-floor window to escape the fire. She suffered broken legs, a broken ankle and hand injuries and was in critical but stable condition Saturday at Piedmont Hospital. Seven others remained hospitalized Saturday, one in critical condition.