Terin Hopkins

NFSA Manager of Public Fire Protection

Courtesy of FOX 5 DC Digital Team

Every Marylander deserves a home that keeps them safe, especially those living in affordable housing. Too many high-rise residential buildings in Maryland were built before modern fire-protection systems were mandated, and these buildings often serve low- and moderate-income residents. The data is clear: it’s time for Maryland to move decisively to retrofit these high-rises with automatic fire-sprinkler systems because safety and affordability must go hand in hand.

Why the Research Leaves No Doubt

A recent issue brief from The Pew Charitable Trusts titled “Modern Multifamily Buildings Provide the Most Fire Protection” finds dramatic life-safety improvements in multifamily buildings constructed or upgraded since 2000. For those buildings, the annual fire-death rate was about 1.2 deaths per million residents, compared to roughly 7.7 per million in older multifamily units. The report attributes much of this improvement to the widespread adoption of automatic fire sprinklers, compartmentation and fire-resistive construction, and modern alarm/detection systems. In short: newer multifamily buildings are among the safest homes people can live in today. That matters greatly for Maryland’s retrofit policy.

Modern Multifamily Buildings Provide the Most Fire Protection

Maryland’s Urgency: Older High-Rises + Affordability = Elevated Risk

In Maryland, especially our urban corridors and inner suburbs, there are many high-rise residential buildings built prior to 1974 before modern sprinkler mandates, which now serve as affordable housing. These buildings were studied by the Workgroup established under HB 823, which found significant life-safety deficits in these high-rises. Key findings from the Workgroup include:

• The Workgroup estimated there are approximately 300 existing high-rise apartment buildings in Maryland built before 1974 that are not fully sprinklered.
• From 2001–2022, Maryland reported 248 high-rise fires in buildings of seven stories or more; 87% were in residential occupancies.
• The Workgroup confirmed that automatic fire sprinklers reduce injury risk and property loss (e.g., 60% injury reduction, 55% property-loss reduction) in high-rise residential fires.
• Older buildings often suffer from chronic deficiencies: inadequate inspection/testing/maintenance of fire-protection systems, outdated passive fire-protection features, limited evacuation capability for older or mobility-impaired residents.

These findings make it plain: in Maryland’s older high-rises, the residents of affordable housing are living in buildings that do not meet the same level of protection that newer multifamily buildings enjoy and that’s fundamentally a social-equity issue.

Sprinklers are Cornerstone

The Pew research underscores that automatic fire-sprinkler systems are among the most effective life-safety technologies in multifamily housing. The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” specializing in public-opinion polling, demographic studies, content analysis, and data-driven social-science research, provides objective, evidence-based insights on national trends in residential fire safety. Although Pew does not take policy positions, its findings consistently demonstrate that buildings equipped with modern fire-protection systems, including sprinklers, experience dramatically lower fire-death rates compared to older, unsprinklered structures.

Modern Buildings are Amazingly Safer!

The Workgroup’s Maryland-specific data affirms this: retrofitting older high-rises with sprinklers should be the priority recommendation. The Workgroup’s final report (June 30, 2025) explicitly calls for:

“Retrofit all existing high-rise residential buildings with automatic fire-sprinkler systems by 2033.”

The recommendation also includes important interim measures while full retrofits are planned and funded: modernize fire-alarm/detection systems, improve compartmentation and exit-route safety, strengthen inspection and maintenance protocols, and provide multilingual fire-safety education to residents.

WORKGROUP TO DEVELOP FIRE SAFETY BEST PRACTICES FOR PRE–1974 HIGH–RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS

For Maryland, installing automatic fire-sprinkler protection in older high-rises, not as an optional upgrade but as a fundamental requirement is central to closing the life-safety gap.

Affordable Housing = Safe Housing

It is simple: affordability cannot come at the cost of safety. Residents of older high-rise affordable buildings deserve the same level of protection as residents of newer luxury high-rises. From policy standpoint, Maryland should adopt the following priority actions:

• Mandatory retrofit requirement: The State should enact a timeline in line with the Workgroup’s recommendation (by 2033) for all high-rise affordable housing (>75 ft) to BE retrofit with automatic fire sprinklers, and reference current life-safety standards (NFPA 1 Fire Code, NFPA 101 (2024 edition).
• Funding/incentives for affordable-housing owners: Recognize that many affordable-housing owners operate on thin margins and that retrofits are costly. Provide grants, low-interest loans, tax credits or state-funded programs to help offset the retrofit cost and ensure rent remains affordable.
• Prioritize high-risk stock first: Focus on pre-1974 high‐rise buildings (and especially those built before 2000 identified by the Pew research) that currently have no automatic sprinkler protection and/or deficient life-safety features.
• Enforce inspection/maintenance culture: Older buildings often have systems that are not maintained properly. The Workgroup highlighted this gap. Strengthening enforcement of inspection, testing, maintenance of fire-protection systems in high-rises and tie compliance to eligibility for incentive programs.
• Resident & property-manager education: Retrofit alone is not enough. The Workgroup recommended multilingual resident fire-safety education. Managers must also be trained in standpipe and sprinkler system basics so that the investment delivers real protection.
• Data transparency and accountability: Use the Workgroup’s data-driven approach as a model. The State should use the compiled inventory of all high-rise affordable housing buildings and track retrofit progress publicly to ensure transparency and accountability.

The business case is clear

Retrofitting older high-rise affordable housing is not just a regulatory cost, it is an investment in life safety, risk reduction, insurance premium reduction, and community stability. The Pew data shows that if multifamily stock across the U.S. met modern standards, annual fire deaths would drop dramatically. For Maryland, fewer high-rise fires, fewer evacuations, fewer resident displacements, fewer large-loss claims and greater peace of mind for residents of modest means.

The Maryland Workgroup’s findings provide a state-specific basis for action. It shows the number of unprotected buildings, the correlation with higher risk, and a clear deadline recommendation of 2033 giving policymakers and stakeholders a defined path forward.

From policy to action

Here’s how Maryland policymakers, building owners, property managers, fire-protection stakeholders can move forward:

1. Inventory & rank – Determine which affordable high-rises built pre-1974 are not sprinklered, and rank by occupancy risk, resident vulnerability (elderly/disabled), stories, existing fire-protection deficiencies.
2. Legislate retrofit deadlines – Enact state law or code amendment requiring retrofit by 2033 for all high-rise, with interim measures for buildings undergoing major renovations sooner.
3. Align codes and standards – Retrofit requirements should reference modern standards: NFPA 1 & 101 2024 ed., existing-building provisions. This ensures the retrofit is future-proof.
4. Funding mechanisms – Establish a retrofit fund, competitive grants, or bond issuance targeted to affordable-housing owners for fire-sprinkler retrofits and associated fire-protection upgrades (compartmentation, alarm/detection systems, evacuation plans).
5. Engage stakeholders – Include residents, property managers, fire service, code officials, owners in planning. Use the Workgroup’s recommended multilingual education modules to inform residents of retrofits, system operation, and evacuation procedures.
6. Monitor & report progress – Publish annual progress reports showing number of buildings retrofitted, sprinklers installed, fire‐incident reductions, cost savings, resident feedback. Use data to refine incentives and priorities.

Conclusion

Affordable housing is about dignity, stability and access and it must also provide safety. The research from The Pew Charitable Trusts is unmistakable: multifamily buildings built or upgraded after 2000, with modern sprinkler systems and fire-safe construction, have dramatically lower fire-death rates. The Maryland Workgroup’s findings specifically highlight the risk in the state’s pre-1974 high‐rise affordable housing, quantify the number of buildings lacking sprinkler protection, and offer a clear retrofit timeline (by 2033) and layered approach to mitigation. In Maryland, it should no longer be acceptable that an affordable high-rise simply meets legacy construction standards. Residents deserve the protection of modern life‐safety systems including automatic fire sprinklers. Owners, policymakers, property managers, fire‐service professionals and stakeholders must work together to ensure that every resident in a high-rise affordable home is living in a safe home.

It’s time for Maryland’s high-rise housing to catch up. Because safe housing is not a luxury — it’s a right.

More about the Author:

Terin Hopkins has 40 years of experience in public safety, fire protection, and life safety policy. He currently serves as the Manager of Public Fire Protection for the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), where he leads technical support and advocacy efforts nationwide, working closely with fire departments, code and standard, and policymakers to improve fire protection infrastructure and compliance. He represents NFSA on many NFPA and UL technical committees, including NFPA 14 Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems.

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