Veto of Honolulu bill delaying fire safety compliance stands

HONOLULU — A measure that would have given condominium owners two extra years to comply with a Honolulu fire safety law has been deemed lost.

The Honolulu City Council failed this week to acquire enough votes to override Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s veto of the measure.

A law requiring high-rise buildings to perform fire safety evaluations within three years and comply with the evaluations within six years was enacted earlier this year.

It was prompted by the fire that raged through the 35-story Marco Polo building in July 2017, killing four people.

The measure Caldwell vetoed last month would have pushed back the evaluations deadline.

Caldwell said last week that extending the timeline would put people at risk, especially seniors living on fixed incomes in buildings without sprinkler systems.