Fire Sprinkler System Problem

[Hendlefe]

I think there's a law in california requiring apartment buildings to have an automatic fire sprinkler system. Recently my mom bought two four unit apartments and the current sprinkler system is Omega (which turns out to be junk but unfortunately the recall deadline was 2001) and the fire department has been harassing us about getting an inspection.

Lo and behold the building failed the inspection so now we gotta repair the sprinkler system. One estimate set the repair at a painful $10,000.

So anyway, the building was built in 1988. Is there some way of getting out of paying for this? Our insurance company said it wont cover it and I don't think there is a need for a sprinkler system since we have working smoke detectors. Thanks for any help.

[FarmerJ]

SO have you double checked your citys building codes to learn for sure if this sprinkler system is required ? start there. As far as the system not working well if its not under a warranty of any sort your just going to have to live with the cost of the repair if that system is indeed required by your city. WELCOME TO the landlord world, of course a expense like that you should be able to write it off against the buildings income and it will reduce your profit , A tax atty or tax acct can tell you for sure. BTW having a working sprinkler system likely gets you a lower property ins rate too compared to other comparable property that doesnt have it.

[Who's Liable?]

You will need to check find what fire code your state is following. Is it the NFPA 5000 or something else. You can call the city goverment office and they should be able to tell you.

[justalayman]

I think there's a law in california requiring apartment buildings to have an automatic fire sprinkler system

.OK ,may very well be correct. I would find out for certain.

Lo and behold the building failed the inspection so now we gotta repair the sprinkler system. One estimate set the repair at a painful $10,000.

ouch.

. Is there some way of getting out of paying for this?

Sell the building? Kind of kidding. With your luck, it would be a requirement to repair it before you sold. On second thought, is it a requirement to have a proper sprinkler system when selling a building such as this? Is it possible the old owner has some liability here? Local codes would probably be the concerned authority for this.

Our insurance company said it wont cover it

They usually don;t cover wear and tear or defective installation (if applicable).

and I don't think there is a need for a sprinkler system since we have working smoke detectors

.This is where you went wrong. You state there is a law requiring the sprinkler so what you think doesn't factor in here. You also state the fire dept are requiring you to repair the sprinkler. The get to enforce the fire safety laws and apparently are. Besides, the smoke detectors and sprinklers work in conjunction with each other and are actuated by two different things (usually). The smoke detectors are to alert the occupants so they may escape before flames are present (hopefully). The sprinkler lengthens the time available to evacuate but it also helps to limit property damage. This is where farmerJ's insurance info comes into play.


I happen to be involved with construction in my real life. I am curious as to what is junk about the sprinkler system. $10k is a considerable sum of money for repairs on a system less than 20 years old.

[Hendlefe]

Thank you for the quick response!

Anyway, to answer your question justalayman, it turns out that our sprinkler system is an Omega system. It was found a while back that these omega sprinklers dont work about 40% of the time; and they are in buildings throughout the US... yeah I feel sorry for them but they hurt everyone.

So there was a lawsuit or something and these guys had to pay for repairs or replacements. Unfortunately, the deadline take advantage of this ended in Nov. 1 2001. We bought the fourplexes around December 2003 I think. So maybe we can get the old owner to pay for the repairs because we certainly can't afford it.

[Hendlefe]

Originally Posted by FarmerJ

SO have you double checked your citys building codes to learn for sure if this sprinkler system is required ?

Well the fire department told us we HAVE to repair them. But I will double check.

[ENASNI]

Originally Posted by Hendlefe

Well the fire department told us we HAVE to repair them. But I will double check.

Yes why don't you do that, but saving money or saving lives... what woould make you ( or your mother) help sleep better at night.

[BL]

Don't they have discloser rules in your State for Sales ? , and why on earth didn't you have this done ?
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