Monrovia : Fire Sprinkler Standards

The City Council has agreed to meet soon with business owners and the Chamber of Commerce to study a proposal for tougher city fire sprinkler standards.

Currently, places of public assembly, such as restaurants and theaters, must be outfitted with sprinklers if they are 5,000 square feet or larger. Other businesses must install sprinklers if they are 10,000 square feet in size.

Fire Chief Mark Foote recommended Tuesday that sprinklers be required for buildings half as big--2,500 square feet for places of public assembly and 5,000 square feet for other businesses.

Foote stopped short of urging that sprinklers be required for homes and apartments, saying smoke detectors and non-combustible roofs do an adequate job of preventing fires there.