Myrtle Beach, Windsor Green Fire: How could the apartment not have sprinklers but still be up to code?

Horry County, SC (ABC) — The apartment building that burnt in Windsor Green on Thursday night did not have a sprinkler system, according to a spokesperson for Horry County Fire.

Not having sprinklers is not against the Horry County Fire Codes because the building was built in the late 1990’s when sprinklers were not required.

Sprinklers can put out a fire before it grows, according to Myrtle Beach Fire’s public information officer.

“The sprinkler systems can put out a fire in a minute or two, without causing any real damage, whereas with a non-sprinkler home you are going to have to wait for the fire department to get there or, if you just happen to be there, you can put it out with a fire extinguisher before it gets too big,” said Lieutenant Jonathan Evans.

Not only do older buildings sometimes lack sprinklers due to codes, but also their building materials can contribute to a fire growing faster than a newer building.

“When you have something that’s made primarily of wood, it’s going to burn a lot quicker than a concrete structure or things that have fire resistant materials in them. So, just like the apartments last night, those are some older buildings that don’t have as many of the newer construction elements in them,” said Evans.

Fire codes are reviewed and changed every few years to help improve the safety of new buildings

“Any time there’s an incident like that they try to see what they could have done better, what they need to do to update the codes, and that’s why we do update the codes every year to add those changes in and say this is what happened, this is why we need to fix it,” said Evans.

ABC 15 News sent the following questions to the Horry County Codes office and is still waiting on answers:

• When was the most recent fire inspection conducted at the Windsor Green apartment complex?
• When was the apartment building affected by the fire last night built?
• Given the age of the building, what are code-enforced requirements for the building (e.g. fire alarms, smoke alarms, sprinklers, etc.)?
• If these items are required, who is required to install and maintain them?
• If these items aren’t required, why aren’t they?
• What are the requirements for the newer buildings in the same complex?

ABC 15 News also reached out to the property management company of Windsor Green and has still not heard back.