By Sarah Wilson – The Daily Texan

Nearly seven years after a fatal fire at University Towers, the off-campus dormitory installed a sprinkler system over spring break.

Building manager Will Rogers said the project has been under way since Fairfield Residential LLC acquired the building in 2006.

“We began planning the process as soon as we took over, but it’s a $1.2 million project, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” Rogers said.

Though some residents were inconvenienced when the building turned off its water for three days over the break, the installation is closure for fire victim Zawardy Ab Latiff’s negligence suit against the dorm.

Ab Latiff’s roommate, who allegedly set the fire on May 1, 2001, was killed in the blaze, and Ab Latiff suffered burns on more than 40 percent of his body.

After seven weeks of hospitalization, he sued University Towers for failure to equip rooms with sprinklers or smoke detectors.

Rogers, who did not work for University Towers when the fire occurred, said he does not know why previous building managers failed to install a sprinkler system.

Donald Smith, Austin Fire Department battalion chief, said University Towers was not subject to the 1981 fire code that requires buildings to have a 24-hour sprinkler and alarm system, pressurized stairwells and smoke detectors in every living area, because the three buildings that comprise the dormitory were built before the ordinance passed.

Smith said three other residential high-rises in Austin are still not required to install a sprinkler system, which has resulted in controversy over the years.

“There has never been a multi-fatality fire in buildings with sprinkler systems, except in New York at the Twin Towers,” Smith said.

Smith said Austin fire-prevention services offered low-interest loans to pre-ordinance buildings to update their fire systems several years ago but that none of the buildings accepted the incentive due to refurbishing costs.

He said sprinkler activation can lead to thousands of dollars in water damage in rooms that are not at risk for catching fire but that every Austin building should offer the protection of fire sprinklers and smoke detectors.

“These systems are not designed to save buildings from fire but to allow residents to escape more quickly,” Smith said.

Kim Polston, an aerospace engineering freshman and University Towers resident and employee, said she was not aware that the building lacked a sprinkler system but said she felt safe with fire escapes and fire alarms in the hallway.

Polston said she hopes the fire system will reassure new students that University Towers is a safe place to live and that the managers are taking precautions to protect residents.

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