Bill would make it a crime not to report a fire

BOSTON (AP) -Lawmakers are considering three bills backers say might prevent a repeat of the 1999 Worcester warehouse fire that killed six firefighters.

One proposal would make it a crime to witness a fire and not report it. Another would require owners of "unsafe buildings" to file floor plans with local fire officials.

A third bill would mandate automatic sprinklers in older commercial buildings.

Firefighters rushed into the Worcester warehouse to save the lives of two homeless people they believed were in the building. The two had already left after accidentally starting the fire and not reporting it.

The bill would make not reporting a fire a crime punishable by a fine of up to $2,500.

"A small fire only becomes a large fire if it is not reported," said Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, the bill's sponsor.

The Worcester deaths also were blamed on the maze-like interior of the cold storage warehouse. Floor plans could have helped firefighters who became trapped in the warehouse, backers of the bill said.

"With those floor plans, that situation might have been changed," said Worcester Deputy Chief Timothy Gray.

Supporters of the sprinkler bill said it might have saved the lives of five people who died in a Newton office fire last year.

The bill, sponsored by Newton Democratic Rep. Ruth Balser, would mandate sprinklers in nonresidential buildings larger than 7,500 square feet.

Newton Fire Chief Edward Murphy said the rate of fire deaths drops dramatically in buildings with smoke detectors and sprinkler systems.

"There is no doubt in my mind ... that sprinklers are the key to saving lives," he said.

The cost of installing sprinklers in old buildings would be prohibitive for some property owners, according to Edwin Shanahan of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, which opposes the bill. State law already requires sprinklers in new commercial buildings.

He said he supports existing law, which allows local communities to decide if sprinklers are needed in older buildings.

"We believe strongly that an individual city or town would know best in that situation," Shanahan said.

The bills were presented at a Statehouse hearing Thursday before the Public Safety Committee, which is weighing other fire-related bills.

One, sponsored by Rep. John Fresolo, D-Worcester, would require colleges to install sprinkler systems in dormitories, fraternities and sororities.

Last year three students were killed in a dormitory fire at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. The dormitory was not equipped with a sprinkler system.

In Massachusetts, there were 150 dormitory fires in 1999, resulting in six injuries and nearly $500,000 in damages, according to state fire statistics. Two-thirds of the dormitories where fires occurred did not have sprinklers.

"Parents send their children to college hoping they will be safe," Fresolo said.

Other bills would require the installation of carbon monoxide detectors near wood burning stoves, create a grant program to help communities build and renovate fire stations; and hold owners of dilapidated buildings criminally responsible for deaths and injuries as a result of unsafe conditions.

The hearing is just the first step in a long legislative process.