Fire rekindles the debate over sprinkler systems

There were no sprinkler systems in the three Main Street buildings gutted Friday night, and their absence could re-ignite the debate over whether downtown property owners should be required to install them.

Calls for mandatory sprinklers rose in 1997, after another five-alarm blaze destroyed three buildings in the 180 block of Main Street.

"If the building had had sprinklers, the fire would have been contained. You probably would be watching them drag the carpet out of the restaurant instead of knocking down three buildings," fire Capt. Leonard Clark said at the time.

As for Friday's fire, Capt. Joseph Martin, a city...