Windsor Green apartment building did not have sprinklers, here's why

A building gutted by a three-alarm fire did not have sprinklers and was not required to because of when it was constructed.

Late Thursday, fire crews responded to 4970 Windsor Green for a large fire that destroyed nine apartments in one building. Residents were forced to jump from balconies and a baby was thrown to a teen below in order to escape the blaze.

Seven people - four women, one man and two children - went to the hospital and four were initially in critical condition, Horry County Fire and Rescue spokesman Mark Nugent said. At a press conference Friday afternoon, Nugent said one of the injured people had to be flown to Charleston, and added that the incident is still under investigation but there is nothing suspicious at this time.

Horry County Public Information Officer Kelly Moore said it was her understanding that the building in Windsor Green did not have sprinklers and was not required based on its age.

County assessor records show the first deed transfers for residences in the 4970 building occurred in 1998. That was before new fire code regulations.

According to Horry County’s website, code enforcement uses regulations from the International Fire Code.

That code required that starting in 2000 apartment buildings more than two stories tall and with more than 16 units were required to have sprinkler systems. By 2003 the code was updated to require all apartment buildings to have sprinklers, according to a memo from the National Multi Housing Council.

That 2003 update impacted building permits starting in 2005.

According to South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation spokeswoman Holly Beeson, there are no retroactive requirements for buildings to be fitted with sprinklers.

That is different from newer buildings at the complex that are required to have sprinklers as they were built after a massive fire five years ago.

At least 26 buildings in Windsor Green are currently equipped with fire sprinklers and they are visible in the newer buildings. The complex rebuilt the structures after they were destroyed in a 2013 blaze.

The March 16, 2013 fire started in a wooded area and quickly spread to the housing complex.

The initial call for an electrical fire in the complex came in at 5:08 p.m., according to reporting on 911 calls by The Sun News at the time.

Confusion by dispatchers delayed the response time by several minutes. The call was transferred to Myrtle Beach at 5:11 p.m. It was transferred back to Horry County at 5:13 p.m. and the first Horry County Fire Rescue unit from Carolina Forest arrived at 5:17 p.m., according to information released by Horry County.

Within 20 minutes of the fire being reported, according to The Sun News archives, two dozen buildings were in flames. More than 70 pets died in the fire.

Horry County Fire Rescue along with many other city fire departments and one North Carolina department responded to the 2013 blaze.

No fatalities were initially reported, but Horry County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Causey was diagnosed with smoke inhalation after the fire and was hospitalized, according to previous reporting. He was later diagnosed with the H1N1 flu virus and later died.

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Windsor Green apartment building did not have sprinklers, here's why."