"Two fires just last week, including the fatal one in Waikiki, serve as a wake-up call for the need for sprinkler systems," Hannemann said. "I'm aware that it's costly to retrofit a high-rise building, but even if only one life is saved, it will have been worth the investment."

Hannemann said he's looking forward to the task force's suggestions and will work with the City Council, Honolulu Fire Department and building condominium owners on the issue.

It's estimated that about 300 residential high-rise buildings in Honolulu do not have sprinkler systems, all of them built before a 1975 law requiring sprinklers in buildings higher than 75 feet. Retrofitting an individual condominium unit can run into the thousands of dollars; doing an entire building could cost more than $1 million.

Even as task force members listened to possible incentives for homeowners yesterday, the head of an association of apartment owners questioned whether mandatory sprinkler systems could be enforced.

Jane Sugimura, president of the Hawai'i Council of Associations of Apartment Owners, told the task force that condominium homeowner associations can only govern what happens to a building's common areas. Unless a homeowner wants sprinklers in his or her unit, all that will happen is that common areas will be retrofitted, she said.

"If you don't get homeowners motivated, they will just sit on this," she said. "A homeowners' board cannot go to each homeowner and say: 'You will put these sprinklers in your units.'

I think that's something the task force will want to address."

Civil fines levied by the city were discussed as an enforcement tool, but the task force reached no conclusion.

Various incentives also were suggested, including proposed state tax credits currently before the state Legislature that would give a tax credit of up to $1,000 a year for five years for homeowners who install sprinklers.

Other ideas included:

• Creating a compliance period of several years to give building owners and their residents time to arrange financing

• Freezing a property's tax assessment value

• A one-time credit on the homeowner's property tax

• Persuading the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to waive the cost of installing a fire meter, which can run as high as $21,000

Retrofitting sprinklers previously became a hot topic after the Interstate Building fire in April 2000, which caused $13 million in damage and injured 11 firefighters. A year later, the City Council required sprinklers in commercial buildings, but was unable to mandate them in residential high-rises.

The task force began yesterday with a cordial but stern warning from the Honolulu Fire Department.

Attilio Leonardi

Leonardi described high-rise fires as difficult and dangerous, noting that it takes firefighters 20 to 30 minutes just to get people and put equipment in place.

A home fire can be put down in minutes.

He also pointed to the Makiki fire of Jan. 27 that burned units on five floors.

"That's the kind of fire that can get ahead of you and cause a lot of loss," Leonardi said.