Houston Building Fire - Why Safety Codes Are So Important

This article from KHOU indicates that the building that caught fire on March 28, 2007 in Houston, Texas was old, outdated, and had bad fire protection systems. According to the article, Houston may require older buildings to take remedial measures to bring their buildings up to code. This would be a wonderful idea, and one hopes that building owners and managers would support it. Many times, however, buildings use what's called a "grandfather" clause" to avoid implementing increased safety measures. A grandfather clause basically allows older buildings with inadequate safety systems or with other building code violations to claim that the age of the building exempts it from being up to the current code. This is a terrible, dangerous approach. All buildings, regardless of age, should be required to comply with current codes, at least with respect to any ordinance dealing with safety issues, safety systems, or safety processes.