Well, there's been a lot of talk recently in the real estate industry here on Oahu regarding retrofitting old high rise condominiums with fire protection for sprinklers. It all starred with the Marco Polo fire that took place in 2017.
Burn Mark on the Marco Polo after 2017 Fire
I remember the fire at Marco Polo like it was yesterday. I remember I was coaching my daughter's canoe practice at the Diamond Head side of the Ala Wai Canal. We started seeing all this smoke coming down the canal.
Canoe Practice at the Ala Wai Canal
Take a look at this picture below. Spoiler Alert: that was not the smoke from that day. Unfortunately, I did not get the smoke on camera.
Funnel Cloud on the Ala Wai Canal
This is actually a funnel cloud, but it gives you a perspective of the view and direction of looking down the canal. The first thing that went through my head when I heard the fire was at Marco Polo was "oh no, this is not good." Because, knowing what I know when I was in the fire department is that the Marco Polo has an enclosed hallway. So, it had the ability to trap the fire and let it spread down the corridors.
Station 29 was the Closest Fire Station to Marco Polo
Station 29 (McCully Fire Station) was the first one on the scene there. The fire itself did spread quite rapidly.
High Rise Condos in Hawaii Kai w/ Open Walkways on the Back
In Hawaii Kai, most of the buildings that we would inspect had open walkways on the backside (or mauka side) of the buildings. That was great for ventilation and didn't allow the fire to spread within units. Another thing I learned later is the Marco Polo itself had louvered doors. So, that was another way for the fire to spread.
Ordinance 19-4
Shortly thereafter (the Marco Polo fire), the City and County of Honolulu pushed forward to retrofit older buildings for fire protection. What they rolled out was Ordinance 19-4. You might ask yourself "what is 19-4?" Well, basically what it is a Fire Life and Safety Evaluation. This started with the Honolulu Fire Department doing an evaluation of all the high-rises over 75 feet here on Oahu.
Alphabetical List of High Rises on Oahu
If you want to see a list to the over 300 high rises on Oahu that the Honolulu Fire Department has identified, here's a link to that list. First off, I'm going to say a disclaimer that I used to be a firefighter here in Honolulu.
David at Hawaii Kai Fire Station 34 in 2007
Ii was with HFD from 1999 through 2007. There were some great experiences I had during my career. I was stationed at Hawaii Kai for the bulk of my career at Station 34.
Hawaii Kai Fire Station on Lunalilo Home Road
I was not in fire prevention and I just want to get that out of the way. I've been out of the department now since 2007, so take what I say with a grain of salt. i am also not an attorney. I am a Realtor here on Oahu. However, us Realtors here on Oahu recently went through some training to cover what Ordinance 19-4 encompasses. Since then, the Honolulu Fire Department has come up with a list of over 300 high rises on Oahu that are 75 feet of more.
With Ordnance 19-4, there are 2 options going forward:
1. Install a new fire sprinkler system by the year 2038
2. Make necessary repairs and/or upgrades to the existing fire alarm and safety of the building by the year 2030
How owners, boards need to decide on which direction they are going and also how they will fund this? Ie - through increasing reserves, increasing maintenance fees or having a special assessment? Associations hired a design professional to conduct the FLSE. They had to file a report by August of 2022. The challenge of most of these buildings coming up with the funds is they are already older buildings that are say 40-60 years old and are dealing with other capital improvements such as spalling, painting, railings, windows and plumbing.
Older Condos and Co-ops Along Diamond Head's Gold Coast
Let alone elevators as these are high rises. Based upon the FLSE results roughly 270 (80-90%) of the buildings failed the initial test. Part of the upgrades will include strobes, horns and audibles in every unit. Fire rated doors, no pikas in the pipes At this point in time, this is just an Oahu thing, not on the neighbor islands as its for counties larger than 500,000 and Honolulu is the only county with a population of that has a population of that amount.
What is Exempt from Ordinance 19-4?
Example of a Low Rise Condo Under 75' That is Exempt
Buildings under 75 feet do not apply. For instance, I am selling some properties right now that are every bit as old as those that have to retrofit. However, they are less than 75 feet. They are not going to be required to do this.
Over 300 Oahu Condo Projects Underinsured
In addition to there being over 300 buildings on Oahu that are over 75 feet on Oahu, it has come up recently in our industry that there are over 300 condo projects on Oahu that are underinsured. A lot of this started with the building collapse in Miami.
Miami Condo Collapse
Lahaina after 2023 Fire
Then, as we all know, we had the Maui fires that happened in August of last year. So, insurance premiums for condos and HOAs have gone up astronomically over the past year or two. With that said, once these buildings start implementing the FLSE requirements, going forward in theory their insurance rates should drop.
Where Do We Go from Here?
To be honest, there are going to be a lot of challenges and growing pains with high-rises on Oahu that need to comply with Ordinance 19-4. However, the silver lining is that the Marco Polo, that went through this awful tragedy back in 2017 has come out on the other side of this.
Marco Polo Now in 2024
They are now on the other side of the tunnel in the sense that they do have sprinklers there. I've been blogging about this after the fire because I predicted that sales there in the building would rebound after the fire, which they really because at one point you could not get financing on units there. We actually helped an owner sell their unit there through our auction platform because there were no buyers out there that could obtain financing. You were forced to sell to cash buyers. It was really sad and tragic for owners at the time, however here we are on the other side of that.
We're now in the year 2024 and in the year 2030, for those that opt for option #2 is going to be hitting us in 6 years. That's right around the corner. If HOA's opt for option #1, which is to retrofit for sprinklers by the year 2038, it's still 14 years out. There's a bit of a road ahead, but there is a silver lining at the end of the tunnel.
Have High Rise Questions on Oahu?
If you have questions about condos or high-rises on Oahu or if you're looking to buy or sell in a building that's going through this right now, or if you're looking to get into a building that already does have sprinklers, we can help you all across the board. Or, if condo living simply isn't for you, we help people buy and sell homes as well. We can be reached at 808-371-3509. Mahalo!