City helps fund sprinkler systems downtown
Eight Mass. Street buildings will get sprinklers; 194 lack upgrades
A $250,000 downtown fire sprinkler incentive program will reimburse owners of eight downtown buildings for up to 75 percent of the cost of installing a sprinkler system. The systems cost between $30,000 and $50,000.
By Matt Erickson (Contact)
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
Eight Massachusetts Street buildings will receive grants from the city this year to pay for fire sprinkler systems.
However, nearly 75 percent of the commercial buildings downtown will still lack sprinklers.
The $250,000 downtown fire sprinkler incentive program will reimburse the selected businesses for up to 75 percent of the cost of a sprinkler system. Each system could cost downtown buildings from $30,000 to $50,000. Five more businesses could receive help if any money is left over. The city received applications for 35 buildings.
Kevin Doyle, city infrastructure and development coordinator, said about 170 of the 202 downtown commercial buildings lacked sprinkler systems or needed upgrades. He said he had expected fewer than half of them to apply for the program.
The real problem is if we have a single fire get out of control through wind or through poorly constructed buildings that are way behind on code.
- Bob Schumm, owner of Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse
“There were a lot of businesses that have talked about how tight things are economically,” Doyle said. “Their 25 percent portion is still a sizable investment.”
Bob Schumm, owner of Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse 719 Massachusetts St., said it would cost about $50,000 to install a sprinkler system in his building — more than he could afford to pay without help.
Buffalo Bob’s was one of the eight businesses selected for the program.
He said the fryers and smokers his restaurant used put the building at serious risk of a fire. One fire at Buffalo Bob’s in 1980 destroyed much of the building’s second floor, and an earlier fire burned up a back room where meat was smoked.
Schumm said he was concerned about fires in both his business and the rest of the downtown area.
“The real problem is if we have a single fire get out of control through wind or through poorly constructed buildings that are way behind on code,” he said.
Mark Bradford, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical chief, said most downtown buildings were very old and lacked interior separation walls that could stop the flow of a fire.
Also, the closeness of the businesses essentially creates huge buildings, each one a block in length.
“There’s a lot of ability for a fire to spread from building to another without much resistance,” Bradford said.
Doyle said this year’s sprinkler program would contribute to downtown fire safety significantly because three of the buildings selected had large assembly spaces that would be especially dangerous in case of a large fire. Those three buildings are Buffalo Bob’s; Teller’s, 746 Massachusetts St.; and the Masonic Temple building, 1001 Massachusetts St., which currently does not have a tenant.
The other businesses selected to receive the incentive were Hobbs, 700 Massachusetts St.; Silverworks, 715 Massachusetts St.; Goldmakers, 723 Massachusetts St.; The Bayleaf, 725 Massachusetts St.; and The Casbah, 803 Massachusetts St.
Kansan staff writer Matt Erickson can be contacted at merickson@kansan.com.
— Edited by Mark Vierthaler
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