"They do cost a lot. I have no idea what they cost, but people's lives are at stake, so you have to weigh that," said building resident Joyce Slory.
Owners of many older high-rises argued that complete sprinkler retrofits would simply be cost prohibitive.... And so here we are again with the same old costs too much argument but with a twist. "They do cost a lot," but, "I have no no idea what they cost," and, "...retrofits would be simply cost prohibitive...." How does one know that the cost would be prohibitive, or even high for that matter, when they don't even know how much something would cost? On a philosophical note I've come to the conclusion that many (perhaps most) AMericans are unhappy because they don't know how much is enough. A bigger salary without defining how much you need will never satisfy you. More stuff without knowing how much stuff you really want will never be enough stuff. Costing too much is a balance between how much something actually costs, how much you have to spend and your perceived value between those two of what you want. If what I want costs more than I have, can borrow, and have any chance of ever obtaining then it's "too much." Less than that and I'm into a cost/benefit assessment. I can do none of this without knowing the actual cost or at least the estimated cost. Hell, we're sold products by the suggestion that the price of a luxury item will be far lower than we thought and well within our ability to afford it. Perhaps the same fellow trying to convince me that luxury condo really is within my price range is the same guy arguing that sprinklers cost too much. "Oh, the humanity!" On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 7:28 AM, Frank Herrick <[email protected]> wrote: > > > FRANK J. HERRICK > CITY OF LEAWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT > OFFICE OF THE FIRE MARSHAL > 14801 MISSION ROAD > LEAWOOD, KS. 66224-9560 > OFFICE: 913.681.6788 x 26 > FAX: 913.681.2399 > CELL: 913.238.6942 > > > > Subject: Lack of sprinkler system in high-rise questioned > > How many times does Chicago have to learn the same lesson ? SAME BUILDING > SECOND LOSS OF LIFE FIRE. > Frank J. Herrick > Kansas City > > http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7166633 > > Condo owner at 280 East Chestnut, Chicago, IL. Maureen Marley quotes: > > "First thing was anger that this is happening again, and a little bit of > fear.' Oh god, not me again. Don't involve me in this again,' Marley said. > > Eight years ago next month, a fire on Maureen's 14th floor took a life. "No > building is safe without sprinklers," Marley said. > > After the 2002 fire, Marley became a strong advocate for sprinklers, > testifying before the city council that redrew Chicago's fire safety > ordinance for high-rises. > > The new code allowed older high-rises to opt for other life-safety > improvements short of a costly retrofit for sprinklers. That's what the condo > association at 280 East Chestnut chose to do. It installed an annunciator > system, which broadcasts loud warnings and gives instructions to residents > above and below the fire floors. > > "The annunciator, that announcing machine is not going to put out a fire," > Marley said > > Owners of many older high-rises argued that complete sprinkler retrofits > would simply be cost prohibitive, and they pursued -- as did the condo > association at 280 East Chestnut -- other fire safety options which the > revised code allows. > > Beata Bihl, 84 years old died in her apartment apparently because of an > electrical problem in a kitchen appliance. > > > > > > > > > > > Frank J. Herrick > Kansas City > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list > [email protected] > http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > > For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > > To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] > (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) > -- Ron Greenman Instructor Fire Protection Engineering Bates Technical College Tacoma, WA Member: SFPE, ASCET, NFPA, AFSA, NFSA AFAA, WSAFM _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
