Kenneth Cofflin, the former San Francisco fire marshal who shepherded the city’s controversial sprinkler mandate into law, is now offering consulting services to help building owners get exemptions from it. A report in the San Francisco Chronicle outlines how Cofflin, who retired in early 2023, now runs a firm that evaluates buildings for compliance and helps secure approvals for exemptions.

The 2022 ordinance requires residential high-rises built before 1974 to be retrofitted with fire sprinklers. The mandate has been a point of contention among condo owners, who cite compliance cost estimates as high as $300,000 per unit. Cofflin's new venture has drawn sharp criticism from city officials, with one supervisor calling the situation 'just corruption.'

In response, Cofflin states he is helping building owners navigate the code's complexities to find more affordable compliance paths, rather than simply exploiting loopholes. He argues that many buildings may qualify for less expensive solutions than a full sprinkler installation in every room. The situation has been further complicated by a recent vote from the Board of Supervisors to delay the compliance deadline by five years, pushing it to 2032, to allow a technical committee to review the mandate's financial impact.