CHICAGO (AP) -- Mayor Richard Daley proposed a requirement for sprinklers in commercial high-rises and a ban on locked stairwell doors, less than a month after an office building fire killed six people.
Daley said Wednesday the proposed fire-code changes ``will make every high-rise in the city of Chicago a safer place to live and work.''
Under his plan, residential buildings and designated landmarks would be exempt from the sprinkler requirement, but residential high-rises without sprinklers would have to be inspected and evaluated on their safety systems.
All new buildings with occupied floors more than 35 feet off the ground, about four stories, would be required to have sprinklers. The sprinkler requirement would be phased in by 2016.
Building owners also would have to leave the stairwell doors open, install a system that unlocks the doors when the fire alarm goes off or a release is triggered, or leave the door unlocked at every fifth floor. The six people killed in the Oct. 17 fire at the Cook County administration building were trapped in smoke-filled stairwells.
The City Council unanimously passed a similar measure on stairwell locks Wednesday that requires the changes within a week. Daley's proposal, which is more far-reaching, will now wind its way through the City Council.
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