City Strengthens Fire Safety in Sandy Springs Apartments

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The Sandy Springs City Council on Tuesday approved changes to enhance fire safety in multifamily rental housing.

The unanimous vote updates ordinances related to emergency management and emergency services, fire prevention and protection and buildings and building regulations.

The changes primarily impact the city’s older multifamily rental housing, adding requirements for fire suppression devices in the kitchen, fire extinguishers for every unit, and application of intumescent paint where interior exposed and unprotected wood, studs or plywood is located, including any attic area, for every building not protected by an operable sprinkler system.

“Over the past several years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of structure fires; in particular, in multifamily rental structures," said Sandy Springs Fire Chief Keith Sanders. "The more damaging fires have occurred predominantly in our older apartments. These changes to our ordinances add needed fire safety tools to help prevent a tragic event from occurring."

In addition, all gated communities must include a KNOX entry system to enable entry for emergency responders. Where private fire hydrants are located, the ordinance requires owners to use a certified private fire hydrant contractor to perform annual testing, inspections and any maintenance, with verification provided to the city annually before a business license renewal is issued.

Chief Sanders added that each apartment community will be contacted to ensure notification is made and any questions are answered.

The changes follow the council's decision in August to amend its building to code to require any building or structure more than three stories and exceeding 100,000 square feet gross floor area are made of noncombustible materials such as steel or concrete.

The city's previous code allowed for wood framing in structures up to four stories -- or five if those buildings had fire sprinklers. The code also applied to condominiums and hotels.

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