NY Daily News, in article on man killed in fire, notes Trump's "tone-deaf tweet"

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Depends on the state/locality as many buildings were grandfathered in

when certain codes were implemented - notably for something as expensive to retrofit/install as sprinklers. However new construction probably would have had to have it. That shifts the concern to the fire alarm system (even if just a hallway fire alarm pull box) and whether anything sounded. According to news reports, the alarms sounded but whether anyone in a condo/apartment heard it is another story.

I know I lived in a hi-rise for years (and there were no sprinklers) and not long before I moved, they came through and retrofitted the entire building with an improved fire alarm system that literally had hard-wired siren "blasters" in every apartment, so that when the fire alarm was triggered anywhere in the building, you knew it (if you were hearing-abled), and the system was setup to automatically call the FD. This was after someone died from smoke inhalation due to a fire in his apartment.

My workplace (federal) did have upgraded sprinklers that had been retrofitted into the building (old building) about 20 years ago. They also updated the alarm system to include a strobe light (for hearing impaired) on the alarm speakers and the system also included prerecorded voice instructions (and intercom capability). The only other places I remember seeing sprinklers, from early on in my life, were the old department stores.