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CHICAGO (AP) -- An expert hired to investigate a fatal fire at a downtown office building has recommended that the city of Chicago require the retrofitting of sprinklers in all high-rises.
James Quiter, an engineering expert, also said a door-unlocking system in the Cook County Administration Building could have minimized the fatalities in the Oct. 17 fire.
Although the 37-story building met city code, it did not have sprinklers beyond the first two floors, and the doors in the stairwells automatically locked, Quiter told a commission investigating the fire. All six victims were found in a stairwell, where they had died of smoke inhalation.
Former appellate court judge and panel chair Abner Mikva said the commission would likely at least recommend the partial instillation of sprinklers in older high-rises.
``I think it's clear at this point that if this city is going to be as safe as it is beautiful, we've got to do something beyond that we're doing now.''
Two other important features that could have changed the fire's outcome were the construction on the corridor walls and the design of the smoke tower, a chimney-like shaft meant to vent smoke out of the building, Quiter said.
Under Chicago's 1961 building code, special fire-resistant walls were not required above the drop ceiling, which allowed smoke to travel more freely, Quiter said.
He also criticized ``inherent flaws'' in how the building code permits the construction of a smoke tower, saying that placing the shaft adjacent to a stairwell could draw smoke to ``exactly the same place we're encouraging the people to go.''
Since the fire, the county has installed sprinklers and a system for unlocking stairwell doors in emergencies at the administration building.
