Supervisors find uneven on-scene support after apartment fires, press for sprinkler retrofits and a single fact sheet

Supervisor Dean Preston opened the Government Audit and Oversight Committee hearing on Sept. 7, saying recent apartment fires in his district have displaced more than 200 residents and exposed gaps in the city's response and victim support. "I think there are real gaps in our city's fire response," he said, calling for a solutions-oriented review of prevention, on-scene assistance and rehousing.

Fire Marshal Ken Coughlin reviewed 13 years of department data, acknowledging limits in the available records and noting a long-term decline in building fires with a spike in 2022. He told the committee that most residential fires occur in low-rise buildings and that sprinklers limit fire spread. "Automatic sprinkler systems are intended to aid in the control of fires and protect against injury and loss of life," he said, and described a 2022 fire-code update that phases in requirements for certain residential properties over 12 years. Coughlin recommended prioritizing retrofits for objectively high-risk buildings, including those with repeated failures to abate fire-safety violations.

Doris Barone, director of disaster preparedness and…