Fire sprinkler retrofit law: Hot air or good safety measure?
Palm Beach Post
Tony Doris
03 July 2016

WEST PALM BEACH — UPDATE: The Division of State Fire Marshal says the state fire code requires only highrise buildings to retroactively install sprinklers. However, the division says it’s up to another Florida agency, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, to determine whether Florida Statutes should be interpreted that way, too.

A state law requiring condominium associations to retrofit their buildings with fire sprinklers is sparking concern among residents of Century Village and elsewhere, who say it’s not clear whether low-rises as well as condo towers need to shell out the thousands of dollars per unit that sprinklers would cost.

An earlier version of the law, part of Florida Statutes section 718, specified that only buildings “greater than 75 feet in height” would be required to install the sprinklers. But that phrase later was deleted, leaving thousands of Florida garden apartment owners to fear they might be forced to upgrade their two- or three-story buildings.

Associations can have unit owners vote to exempt their buildings from the requirement, but some fear that with snowbirds out of town, many associations won’t get the votes or paperwork completed by the Dec. 31 deadline to opt out.

“What’s the purpose in the first place?”

“What’s the purpose in the first place?” asked Century Village owner Montgomery Rahmayer. “How many fires do we have in Century Village, for God’s sake?”

Attorney Jeffrey Rembaum, a specialist in association law, says associations should seek legal guidance.

It’s possible to argue the new law, while not stating that it applies to high-rises only, clearly refers back to the Florida Fire Prevention Code, which does, the Palm Beach Gardens lawyer said. On the other hand, he said, it wouldn’t surprise him if someone injured in a fire in a low-rise sued that building’s association, alleging it ducked its responsibility if it didn’t install sprinklers or conduct a vote to opt out of having them.

“Sometimes even the clearest points of law become all muddied up in the courtroom,” he said. “In this instance, it would be miraculously wonderful if the State Fire Marshal would issue a public statement.”

The Division of State Fire Marshal said late Friday afternoon that the state fire code requires only highrise buildings to retroactively install sprinklers or to show that their owners voted to opt out. However, the division says it’s up to another Florida agency, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), to determine whether Florida Statutes should be interpreted that way, too. DBPR officials could not be reached over the holiday weekend.

There are other areas of confusion, as well. “It’s really not clear what would happen if you didn’t get to vote by the end of the year but were trying to do so before the drop-dead date,” Boca Raton condominium lawyer Kara Tanis added.

What is clear is that sprinkler installers and city building permit departments would benefit from the business.

“To me, it sounds like a racket,” Tanis said.

a tough burden on seniors on fixed incomes

Condo owner insurance premiums would probably go down but association dues would go up to cover the installation, she said. That’s a tough burden on seniors on fixed incomes, relying on social security and disability payments to make ends meet, she said.

I’ve been recommending people opt out.

“There’s no extra money. I’ve been recommending people opt out.”

Century Village’s United Civic Organization (UCO), essentially a master association for the development’s hundreds of buildings, distributed an information packet, explaining the simplest way for associations to have members vote to opt out of the sprinkler requirement, by written consent. “We did all the legwork for the associations,” UCO President David Israel said. “We’re not attempting to interpret the law. We’re saying, ‘Why take the risk? Opt out unless you have a lot of money,’ because it’s very expensive to retrofit, especially large buildings.”

There’s one other thing to consider, though, said attorney Rembaum — the most obvious thing.

“Ask yourself whether you would rather live in a condominium building with up-to-date life-safety equipment,” he cautioned in Rembaum Association Roundup, a column distributed electronically statewide. “Even though it might be a costly project, in the rare circumstance it is needed, it is worth more than $1 billion when your life is at stake.”


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